What is your research question? A mixed methods evaluation of an academic statistical consulting center

• Published in: Evaluation and program planning 2021-12, Vol.89, p.102001, Article 102001
• Main Authors: Estrada, Samantha, Floren, Michael, Harding, Justin, Wroblewski, Matthew
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Client perspective; Colleges & universities; Consultants; Exploratory factor analysis; Factor Analysis; Interviews; Mixed methods; Mixed methods research; Patient-centered care; Polls & surveys; Reliability; Research consulting; Scale development; Statistical consulting; Triangulation
• ISSN: 0149-7189; 1873-7870
• DOI: 10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2021.102001

•The evaluation of academic statistical centers has yet to be fully explored in the literature.•Evaluation of an academic statistical consulting center using a mixed methods approach.•Developed the first instrument to obtain feedback from clients of a statistical consulting center.•Interview data revealed university clients, faculty, staff, graduate and undergraduate students need for statistical consulting expertise. Academic consulting centers on research and statistics are the bridge between applied researchers and statisticians and thus at the core of university-wide research. The client-centered evaluation focused on investigating the perspective of the clients in university research and statistical consulting center. A mixed-methods methodology was used in this study, specifically a concurrent triangulation design was implemented to have multiple data sources collected and analyzed simultaneously in order to identify areas of overlapping information. The Research Consulting Scale (RCS) instrument was developed and analyzed using an exploratory factor analysis with 129 participants and resulted in two factors: consulting experience, and consulting facilities. The internal consistency reliability of the scores for these two factors was 0.89 and .86 respectively. These results support the RCS has strong internal consistency. Additionally, client interviews were conducted sampling from those who had responded to the survey in order to gather additional data. Thematic analysis was performed to interview data and resulted in two major themes: consultant expertise and consultancy skills. The results provide a survey instrument and key themes for university consulting centers to focus and assess their efficiency through client’s perspectives.