Study design, Epidemiology and Biostatistics Support Service

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Study design, Epidemiology and Biostatistics Support Service

The TAAHC Study design, Epidemiology and Biostatistics Support Service (SEBSS) provides advice and guidance to support quality statistical design, analysis and interpretation of research across TAAHC Members.

The SEBSS is open to all staff employed in TAAHC health sector Member organisations who are engaged in research. The service is also available to staff employed within a health and medicine discipline at James Cook University (JCU). Note though that priority access will be given to staff of TAAHC health sector Member organisations and to JCU staff supporting projects within these organisations.

The service is not available to clients external to TAAHC member organisations, undergraduate students or to staff members enrolled in a Higher Degree by Research qualification. Staff who are enrolled in a Higher Degree by Research Qualification should in the first instance access statistical support services provided by their enrolling institute. The SEBSS is also not available to TAAHC Member organisations to support organisational data analysis or service design activities.

The SEBSS can provide assistance with the following:

  • Formulating specific research questions from general research ideas

  • Study design and analysis plans

  • Power and sample size calculations

  • Data management plans

  • Handling data in statistical software packages

  • Data analysis using statistical methods appropriate for medical and health research

  • Presentation and interpretation of data and analyses

Requesting an appointment

Appointments can be requested by completing a SEBSS Service Request form.

The team will endeavour to respond to requests within five days and may require additional information before making a time for consultation. Consultations may be booked for up to one hour and will occur via videoconference or face to face (where the consulting team member is based in the same location as the person requesting support). The consulting team member will specify dates and time they are available for consultation and are generally available through the working week. Any follow up consultations may then be booked directly with the consulting team member.

Dependent on demand it may take up to a fortnight to secure a consultation time. If anyone would like to meet with a SEBSS team member prior to an important date, they are advised to book several weeks in advance.

There is no limit to the number of times support can be requested but note that where more advanced or time-consuming assistance is required, the consulting team member may recommend entering into a collaborative arrangement which will result in co-authorship of any paper which uses SEBSS advice.

Preparing for your appointment

Based on the information provided in the appointment form, a SEBSS team member may request additional information prior to a consultation. This will likely include:

  • The protocol or methodology you plan to use;
  • A description and/or access to the data to be collected, or secondary data analysed;
  • Relevant references.

Sharing research data

All users of the Study design, Epidemiology and Biostatistics Support Service (SEBSS) should ensure that any research data shared with SEBSS staff is in accordance with any relevant Human Research Ethics, Public Health Act or other approvals. As a general guide and wherever possible, data shared with SEBSS staff should be de-identified. Any research data shared with SEBSS staff will be kept confidential.

Further information regarding sharing of health research data is available at the below links:

https://www.health.qld.gov.au/hiiro/html/regu/for_researcher

https://www.health.qld.gov.au/hsu/research

https://ardc.edu.au/resource/sensitive-data/

https://ardc.edu.au/resource/identifiable-data/

Cost

The service is free to staff employed in TAAHC health Member organisations and to staff employed within a health and medicine discipline at JCU.

Acknowledgement of support

An acknowledgement of the contribution of the SEBSS support should be made in a resulting publication. Where the contribution is substantial, co-authorship should be considered.

Research Support