Consulting Services
Biostatistics and Research Methodology Core (Internal Collaboration)
Biostatistics and Research Methodology CORE services are provided from members of the Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology under the direction of Linda Gerber, PhD. These services are only available to faculty and staff with a primary appointment at the WCMC campus. This mechanism is recommended for divisions and departments with short-term epidemiological and statistical needs. For longer term needs, please see Long-term Collaboration Plans (Internal or External).
What does this plan provide?
- Statistical analysis
- Sample size and power analysis
- Study design
- Protocol design/research planning
- Database design and management
- Questionnaire development
- Preparation or revision of manuscripts
- Program evaluation
The WCMC investigator/department requesting the service reimburses the Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at $150/hour including the initial consultation (a rate subsidized by WCMC). An estimated cost will be provided to the investigator after the initial consultation. An invoice will be issued from the Division at the project completion, or semiannually if the project is of a longer duration.
How to take part in this plan
Prior to submitting the Consultation Request Form, please e-mail Dr. Paul Christos at pac2001@med.cornell.edu or call him at 646-962-8018 to assess the needs of your project.
Policies and Guidelines for Collaboration under the ‘Biostatistics and Methodology Core’
We recommend that investigators include the Biostatistics and Research Methodology Core as early as possible in the development process. Please contact us well in advance of any deadlines (e.g., abstract submissions, grant applications, IRB deadlines).
Expected Turnaround Time for Initial Consult
Someone will contact you within a few days of receiving your request. An appointment will be scheduled with a consultant, usually to occur within one week.
Expected Turnaround Time for Actual Work on the Project
This is, of course, dependent on the nature and scope of the project. If the protocol or data are not finalized, the time to completion of the project will commence when these are finalized. Generally, investigators can expect a turnaround time of 7-10 days.
Policies for Manuscript Writing
Authorship
A frequently asked question is whether biostatistical consultants should be co-authors on scientific papers. We feel that decisions about authorship should be independent of consideration of funding sources.
As recommended in published guidelines (Parker RA, Berman NG: Criteria for authorship for statisticians in medical papers. Statistics in Medicine 17: 2289-2299 [1998]), “The basis of financial support should be the time/effort spent on a project and the basis for authorship should be whether the statistician has made a scientific contribution to the project.”
By JAMA’s criteria for authorship for statistical experts involved in the analysis and interpretation of data used in a manuscript; a statistician is a co-author if
- he/she took part in the drafting of the manuscript or
- he/she was involved in a critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content.
Above all, it is important for the medical researcher and biostatistician(s) working on the project to agree on criteria for authorship early in their collaboration.
