Admission Requirements
Only open to Master students Statistics and Data Science (entry requirement 45 ECTS) and Master students Methodology & Statistics, Institute of Psychology (entry requirement 10 ECTS of mandatory program). This course runs twice a year (in Semester 1 and Semester 2). Do not subscribe to Semester 1 when you do not satisfy the entry requirement Sept 1st.
Description
Consulting is an integral part of an applied statistician’ s life, whether working in academia, government or industry. Statistical and methodological consultation may involve brief interactions to respond to very specific technical questions of a single client, or long term associations as a member of research projects. It always involves a form of ‘ reverse reasoning’, that is, figuring out the conclusion you want to come to, and finding a way to get there. Specifically, the consultant’ s problem is: What statistical procedure(s) could provide an appropriate answer to the client’ s research question, within all practical constraints? During the course, every two students will carry out a statistical consultation project with an actual client.
Course objectives
After this course the student is able to:
1. identify and recognize issues in a client project relevant for a statistical consultant, such as: research question, study design, sampling procedure, and measurement instruments;
2. choose and apply (an) appropriate analysis technique(s) to answer the client's research question(s);
3. effectively communicate to the client (both orally and in writing) the choice of analysis technique(s), the statistical assumptions, the analysis results and how these (potentially) answer the research question;
4. perform a statistical consultation and writing of a report with reproducible code following a scientific approach and using the structure of a scientific article.
Timetable
In MyTimetable, you can find all course and programme schedules, allowing you to create your personal timetable. Activities for which you have enrolled via MyStudyMap will automatically appear in your timetable.
Additionally, you can easily link MyTimetable to a calendar app on your phone, and schedule changes will be automatically updated in your calendar. You can also choose to receive email notifications about schedule changes. You can enable notifications in Settings after logging in.
Questions? Watch the video, read the instructions, or contact the ISSC helpdesk.
Note: Joint Degree students from Leiden/Delft need to combine information from both the Leiden and Delft MyTimetables to see a complete schedule. This video explains how to do it.
Mode of instruction
The course consists of nine interactive lectures and nine consulting practicals (training sessions) with real clients. Plus one exam meeting that consists of final presentations. Note that the practical groups are determined in week 3 of the course, based on the distribution of the client projects.
The lectures support the performance of the client project and the writing of the final report. The practicals consist of client meetings (i.e., meetings in which you talk to your client, observed by other students). For the client meetings, the students will be divided into smaller groups.
The program and a syllabus are available on Brightspace and details will be announced on the first lecture day. An overview of the client projects for which the students can indicate their preference will be available a few days before the first lecture day on Brightspace. IMPORTANT: The students need to send their preference before the first lecture.
We aim for on-campus teaching where possible, but we anticipate some meetings will have a hybrid form.
Assessment method
Final written report including reflection report (70%); final oral presentation (20%); active participation during the meetings (10%). Attendance to the lectures and client meetings (including performance of three client meetings) is obligatory during the whole course. The weighted average of the grades of the written report, presentation and participation determines your final grade. Additionally, the grade on each of the three assessment criteria of the written report should be at least a 5.5 to pass this course. When a revision is needed of the final written report, the maximum grade for the revised report will be a 6.5.
Reading list
Various articles and book chapters on a) how to perform statistical consulting; b) how to handle missing data, and initial data analysis; c) how to report statistical methods and results to non-statistical readers, and d) ethical issues. Links to the articles will be provided on Brightspace.
Registration
As a student, you are responsible for enrolling on time through MyStudyMap.
In this short video, you can see step-by-step how to enrol for courses in MyStudyMap.
Extensive information about the operation of MyStudyMap can be found here.
There are two enrolment periods per year:
Enrolment for the fall opens in July
Enrolment for the spring opens in December
See this page for more information about deadlines and enrolling for courses and exams.
Note:
It is mandatory to enrol for all activities of a course that you are going to follow.
Your enrolment is only complete when you submit your course planning in the ‘Ready for enrolment’ tab by clicking ‘Send’.
Not being enrolled for an exam/resit means that you are not allowed to participate in the exam/resit.
Contact
Prof. Dr. E. Dusseldorp (1st and 2nd semester)
elise [dot] dusseldorp [at] fsw [dot] leidenuniv [dot] nl
Remarks
The course is scheduled twice a year (in the 1st and 2nd semester). See the Leiden University students' website for the Statistics and Data Science programme.
The date of handing in the report, and the dates when each student will receive a client with a statistical problem will be agreed upon during the first lectures.
Software
Starting from the 2024/2025 academic year, the Faculty of Science will use the software distribution platform Academic Software. Through this platform, you can access the software needed for specific courses in your studies. For some software, your laptop must meet certain system requirements, which will be specified with the software. It is important to install the software before the start of the course. More information about the laptop requirements can be found on the student website.