Department of Mathematics
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Other Useful Links
Math Dept.
NKU
CINSAM
Note: The information provided here is specifically designed for students who are working on research and/or thesis projects who are coming to us before the data collection process. If you are a student working on a project and are requesting our services later in the research process (for example, maybe you've already collected your data), please read the following, but realize that some information may not pertain to you.
Question 1:
What do I need to bring to the initial consultation?
Question 2: How long
is the initial consultation?
Question 3: How many
times will we meet face-to-face?
Question 4: What
should I do if I modify my study after the initial consultation?
Question 5: Who
provides the data entry, and do you have any suggestions for data entry?
Question 6: How is the
analysis done?
Question 7: How long
does it take us to finish the analysis?
Question 8: Will you
go over the analysis with me?
Question 9: Can I
contact you again after the final meeting to ask questions?
Question 10: Is the
BCC open in the summer?
Question 1: What do I need to bring to the initial consultation?
Prepare to provide us with at least the following information:
- A description of the problem
- Your research questions (what questions would you like answered with your research?)
- Your progress to date
You should also consider the following items before the initial meeting. The specifics may be modified in our meeting.
- How will you collect your data (existing data, conduct a survey, etc.)? If you are doing a survey, is there an existing survey that you will use or will you design your own? Please think about the logistics of this data collection. You may need to discuss this with your faculty research coordinator. For instance, if you are a nurse and you are planning to collect information from patients' charts, how will you gain access to these charts, what information are you allowed to record from these charts, is there a quick way to select only charts that satisfy certain inclusion criteria, etc.?
- Make a tentative list of variables that you would like measured/recorded.
- What will the responses look like for each variable? For example, will you record each person's age in years, or will you record his/her birthdate, or will the age be selected from a list of categories (15-24, 25-34, 35-44, etc.)?
- If you have a preliminary version of your data collection tool, please bring it to the meeting.
- If you have written part of your research paper, sometimes we find it helpful to have a copy of it.
- If you think it will be useful, please bring references related to your field and/or research which may familiarize the consultants with your research.
Most importantly, please feel free to ask a lot of questions! If you don't understand something, ask! We will do the same of you. We are certainly not experts in your field, so we will need to ask you a lot of questions.
Question 2: How long is the initial consultation?
This varies, but typically ranges from 30 minutes to 90 minutes.
Question 3: How many times will we meet face-to-face?
This varies as well, but typically we meet twice, once for the initial appointment, and then again to go over the analysis.
Question 4: What should I do if I modify my study after the initial consultation?
Let us know what change(s) you have made, however small they seem to be. You can do that with a simple e-mail message. Even the smallest modification can lead to a major change in the way your data should be collected. We may be able to handle the modifications through e-mail, or perhaps we will need to schedule an additional meeting. If you change your research topic completely, please fill out another consultation request form on our website.
Question 5: Who provides the data entry, and do you have any suggestions for data entry?
The BCC typically does not provide data entry services. Occasionally we do, but there is a charge for this service. We can provide an Excel template for you to help you with data entry, and in fact we encourage you to take advantage of this service. We will set up the format for the file, type in column headings, and provide data entry safeguards to minimize typos.
Some suggestions for data entry:
- Do not send us the data until you have triple-checked all entries.
- Fancy colors, elaborate titles, data split up into several different worksheets (although is sometimes needed), etc. are typically not very helpful for us. These "extras" can actually delay our analysis. The simpler, the better.
- You can leave cells in the Excel file blank, but it must be clear what a blank represents. Typically a blank represent "missing data" or "not applicable". An entry of "0" is not necessarily the same thing as a blank entry. A zero entry should mean that a measurement is truly equal to 0, or perhaps it represents a categorical response (0=no and 1=yes, for example).
- Each cell should contain only one piece of information. If you feel the need to add a comment to a response, add a new column for all such comments.
Question 6: How is the analysis done?
We typically use SPSS for Windows and/or Minitab to analyze data. The results are then copied into a Microsoft Word document using the Arial font, and then e-mailed to you as an attachment. We do the best we can to check for data entry errors, but realize that there could be mistakes that we cannot possibly detect. Again, it is very important to triple-check your entries. It is typical for us to give you more analysis than you will actually need to include in your paper. It will be up to you to decide what parts are most relevant and interesting. We typically do not "write up" the results of your study unless your faculty research coordinator gives us special permission to do so. We do however try to include descriptive titles for the various analyses.
Question 7: How long does it take us to finish the analysis?
This varies substantially from client to client. It depends on the complexity of the analysis, how many projects we are working on at the same time, how clean your data is (i.e., free of data entry errors), and how many consultants we have working in the BCC at that time. Please allow up to 4 weeks for the BCC to analyze your data. Make allowances for times when the BCC may not be open, such as during university breaks. During these times, we try to keep up with e-mail communications, but are often not in the office to work on projects. See question for comments about the summer.
Question 8: Will you go over the analysis with me?
Yes. Generally we set up another face-to-face meeting to go over the results. At this time, please don't hesitate to ask questions. Most, if not all, of the faculty members who work in the BCC are also teachers, so we are used to answering such questions, and we really enjoy this "teaching" aspect of the consultation process.
Question 9: Can I contact you again after the final meeting to ask questions?
Yes. Sometimes after you have a chance to think about the analysis and results, you may find that you have additional questions or you would like additional analyses. Please feel free to contact us. We are happy to help.
Question 10: Is the BCC open in the summer?
Usually by about April or so each year, we find out whether we can stay open for the upcoming summer. If we are able to stay open, it will be for a limited number of hours each week. Please contact us to find out more details about our services in the summer.