Statistical Consulting Service
The Department of Psychology is pleased to provide statistical consulting to faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows (consulting is not available to undergraduates and members of other departments). Our consultants are available to assist with tasks ranging from advice on study design, selecting appropriate analytic techniques, and troubleshooting data analyses to strategizing analysis plans for grant proposals and other large-scale projects.
You can book a virtual appointment with a consultant using our online booking service. Visit the booking pages for Andrea Howard or Yan Liu to view available appointment times and book a Zoom meeting.
You will get the most out of a consulting meeting if you can come prepared to discuss the following: (1) your research questions and hypotheses. What problem are you trying to solve? What do you expect to find? (2) any preliminary work you’ve done or methods you’re considering using to analyze your data; and, if applicable, (3) analysis output, if you’re struggling to interpret it. If you’re working on something complex, reach out to a consultant in advance of your appointment with some preliminary information.
Andrea Howard
My areas of strength include measurement, factor analysis, structural equation modelling, multilevel modelling, and regression. I was first trained as a developmental psychologist, and consequently I have a strong background and interest in methods for longitudinal data analysis. Managing missing data and strategies for handing categorical data in longitudinal research are among the most frequently-asked topics I encounter in consulting. I work primarily in the R, SAS, and Mplus software environments, but am also familiar with SPSS and HLM.
Yan Liu
My expertise includes causal modeling (propensity score matching, mediation, and moderation), Bayesian mixed effects models, structural equation models, item response theory, differential item functioning, validity, and reliability. I have taught graduate-level courses and workshops in Experimental Design and Analysis, Regression Analysis, Hierarchical Linear Modeling and Growth and Change, Data Visualization, Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, Generalizability Theory, and Latent Class Analysis. I can help with questions related to these topics, research design, power analysis, and data analysis. I can also provide consulting related to using statistical software in your research, such as SPSS, R, MPlus, HLM, BILOG-MG, and MULTILOG.
Craig Leth-Steensen
My academic interests are Adult Cognition and Decision Making, Cognitive Development, Computational Modeling, and Statistical Methods. I have taught quantitative-based, graduate-level courses in Advanced ANOVA, Advanced Regression, Logistic Regression and Categorical Data Analysis, Structural Equation Modeling, Psychometrics, and Connectionist Modeling. I have also studied Psychophysics and Multidimensional Scaling and am familiar with both Cluster Analysis and Latent Class Models as well as with HLM (particularly as it pertains to repeated measures ANOVA and regression designs). I can help run analyses in SPSS, MPlus, HLM, IRTPro, AMOS, and LISREL. I also have experience writing Matlab programs and have dealt a bit with running analyses in both R and SAS.