On this page, you will find a few examples on how a collaboration between EPISTATA and you will work. We shall find the combination of activities that is best for you.
Scenario 1 – Sample size calculation only.
Amy has worked hard towards her research grant application. She carried out a systematic literature review, she identified a gap in the knowledge that she wants to fill, as well as a defined research hypothesis. Moreover, she has already designed a study to address her hypothesis. She now needs to figure out how many study participants she will need to recruit to be able to conduct her study with sufficient power. Epistata can help with specific activities such as this one. Amy will send a project outline to Epistata and Epistata will get back to her with a paragraph describing the methods and the results of a sample size calculation, which will be part of her grant application.
Scenario 2 – Statistical analysis only.
Tom works at the city hospital. After some years spent taking care of certain kinds of patients, he developed the idea that a particular subgroup of patients has a better response to the standard treatments. He has permission to access the relevant data that is routinely collected in his department. Tom now needs the help of an expert to test his hypothesis because he is insufficiently skilled in statistics. Moreover, the support of a third-party independent expert in medical statistics will make his results more trustworthy. Epistata can help Tom for this specific request. Tom will provide Epistata with an outline of his study and with the raw dataset. Epistata will get back to him with some text and tables to be included in the Methods and the Results sections of the paper that Tom will write and submit to a journal for publication.
Scenario 3 – Statistical analysis, translation, and revision.
Tim works at the department of surgery of the city hospital. He is an expert in several surgical techniques and has already started a research study. He designed his study and has already collected the clinical notes that have to be analysed. Tim is not a native English speaker and has written the Introduction and part or the Methods sections in French or Spanish or Italian. He has properly cited the relevant references, made a good case for new research, and defined a specific research hypothesis. Epistata can help Tim complete his study and prepare the manuscript for publication. Tim will provide Epistata with the manuscript in in French or Spanish or Italian and with a spreadsheet of clean data. Epistata will revise and translate the Introduction and the Methods sections in English, will add a paragraph around the statistical methods used, will produce result tables and will write the Results section. Tim and Epistata will write the Discussion section jointly. Tim will submit the paper for publication. In case the external reviewers ask for changes in parts of the manuscripts, Epistata will revise them.
Scenario 4 – All included.
Emma is the head of the department of general medicine at the city hospital. After many years spent taking care of certain kinds of patients, she believes that the drug suggested in the guidelines for the treatment of those patients is not sufficiently effective. She thinks that another drug may be superior and that it would be worth trying to compare the effects of the two drugs. She is always very busy at work and does not have the time to explore her idea, let alone design and conduct a clinical trial. Epistata will undertake Emma’s study from A to Z and liaise with Emma’s colleagues. Epistata will start the research from the beginning and take it to completion, while Emma will supervise the activity and will revise the papers that will be submitted for publication. In case the reviewers ask for changes in parts of the manuscripts, Epistata will revise them.