Statistical Consulting in a Geographically Dispersed Organization

Authors

Richard M. Engeman, Denver Wildlife Research Center, U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceFollow
William E. Dusenberry, Denver Wildlife Research Center, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Date of this Version

November 1984

Comments

Published by The American Statistician, November 1984, Vol. 38, No. 4.

Abstract

There has been much discussion in the recent statistical literature concerning the optimal manner for a consulting statistician to operate within a larger organization. Marquardt (1979) described the "total involvement" approach, involving a statistician from conceptualization of a project to the final report; Finney (1982) discussed the questions a statistician should ask for effective consulting; and Bishop, Peterson, and Tragser (1982) argued that a statistician's most substantive contributions are made during the planning stages of a study. McCulloch et al. (1982) described a program for training statistical consultants, and Hunter (1981) discussed the roles a statistician may assume.