Collaborating With a Biostatistician on Your Research Project

Collaborating with a statistician is critical to the success of medical research. Statisticians contribute their expertise to ensure methodological rigor during all stages of the research process from study design to data interpretation and dissemination. Involving a statistician early in the research process to help guide the development of research hypotheses, study design, randomization strategies, sample size, data types, and data management is essential to the success of clinical and scientific research. Ongoing collaboration helps maintain consistency throughout all stages of research to answer the research question. We hope to pass on the understanding that statisticians want to be a part of your team and strive to help create rigorous and clinically relevant research by describing the statistician's perspective and needs. This article aims to provide clinicians and researchers with the tools needed to successfully collaborate with a statistician.