Scientific inquiry is only as good as the methods and statistics scientists use. How do we best answer questions about adult development and aging? Although we all know the mantra “correlation does not mean causation”, methodological practices are rapidly changing, novel statistical tools are being developed daily, and there are disparities in access to methodological and statistical training across universities. Thus, regardless of career stage, there are many reasons you might want to develop, hone, or maintain your methodological and statistical proficiency. Our goal of this article is to provide resources and tips on how you might go about elevating your quantitative methodological practices and statistical expertise.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted almost every aspect of how students get trained, one benefit has been the influx of methodological and statistical trainings that have been made available virtually. Some companies were already offering online content, so they were well-positioned to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. But, in the past 3 years, several new companies and initiatives have emerged with excellent statistics training. Below, we provide a brief overview of what types of trainings are available and the modalities through which they are offered.
Online Tutorials
CARMAopens in new window: The Consortium for the Advancement of Research Methods and Analysis has a 25-year history of providing tailored online statistics training. They provide live online short courses, as well as an extensive video libraryopens in new window of courses that can be accessed for free if your institution is a member of the CARMA consortium. Some graduate programs have utilized CARMA by offering university credit for completing a set number of these courses, which are tailored to the individual needs of the student.
UCLA Statistical Methods and Data Analyticsopens in new window: This website might be one of the quickest ways to learn a new statistical procedure with the software of your choosing and for free. The search functions on this website are user friendly, and users have the ability to search by statistical package, data analysis examples, and annotated output. An array of procedures are covered, including regression, count models, latent class analysis, and power analysis. The materials included on the website are brief (with more of a focus on the program coding and interpretation of output), but that is fine for most researchers because the math behind the scenes is over most of our heads anyway. In addition, they also host 3-hour seminars as well as an online repository of past classes and workshops.
Penn State Quant Dev Coreopens in new window: Need help with more complex statistical techniques such as actor-partner independence models or geospatial modeling? The Penn State Quantitative Developmental Systems Methodology Core has you covered. They provide tutorials on a wide range of complex statistical techniques using R, with in-depth descriptions of the entire analytic process from data cleaning and preparation to visualizing the results.
Free training: You would be surprised how many free statistics videos are available on YouTube. Type any statistical procedure into the search field, and you are likely to find dozens of instructional videos. One word of caution: just because it is posted online does not mean it is the most appropriate way to use a given method or statistical tool. Although we believe individuals who post videos have good intentions, it can be difficult to decipher whether any given individual’s recommendations are the most up to date with current best practices. When in doubt, look for videos from prominent social science statisticians such as Preacher, Hayes, the Muthéns, etc.
On-Demand and On-site Workshops
For those who want intensive training in specific statistical topics, virtual and on-site workshops are the best. Most of these are weeklong training sessions, and you receive all of the lecture slides, code, lab assignments, key readings, discussion board access, etc.
CenterStat by Curran-Bauer Analyticsopens in new window: Drs. Daniel Bauer and Patrick Curran have assembled an all-star team to offer live and asynchronous statistics course offerings, typically over a 4-day timeframe. Having 1-year replay access to course content is an added benefit of these trainings. They also offer free workshops so you can not only learn, but also get a feel for their teaching style and how a course works before having to purchase any course material. Any statistical method you want to learn more about is likely a course already offered, but CenterStat is continually adding more content to stay up to date with recent statistical advances.
Statistical Horizonsopens in new window: Dr. Paul Allison has been leading the field in statistics training since 2005. With one of the most extensive course offerings and high-profile instructors, Statistical Horizons has figured out how to break-down complex statistical techniques in their week-long courses. They offer over 60 rotating courses with excellent lecture notes, coding, and data examples. These courses mimic a graduate level course but are compressed into a shorter training. If you want to invest time into learning a method, purchase one of these courses, and you will be more than happy you did. Just note, the window to access the course is typically short so engage early and often.
QuantFishopens in new window: Drs. Christian Geiser and Ginger Lockhart have really changed the online statistics training landscape by offering affordable training in modern data analysis. Using programs such as Mplus and R, Dr. Geiser and other expert instructors quickly dive into each topic so you can proficiently conduct your own analyses with confidence. You can preview their courses for free, and they also offer student and group discounts. If you need high-quality training, but have limited time to devote to statistics training, QuantFish should be your first stop.
Summer Workshops
Several well-established statistics programs are offered over the summer. These programs typically cater to graduate students who have some working knowledge in statistics (e.g., basic regression and hypothesis testing). The benefit of these programs is the amount of training you get across a wide range of statistics topics in just a few weeks. You can go from novice to proficient in a matter of weeks.
Stats Campopens in new window: Stats Camp is one of the most well-known summer programs with both in-person and virtual options to bolster statistics skills in a wide variety of basic topics (e.g., Latent Class Analysis, Structural Equation Modeling, Bayesian Analysis, Machine Learning). The instructors of the courses are experts in the field and provide one-on-one instruction with their question-and-answer sessions, and they use multiple statistical modeling software such as MPlus and R. They offer full week seminars, 3-day camps, and Analysis Retreats on special topics. Dr. Todd Little is the Stats Camp Director, so you are in good hands.
University of Michigan ICPSR Summer Programopens in new window: ICPSR has provided a summer program for decades, and the training is top notch. Typically, they offer a 4-week in-person statistics training over the summer, but they have included some virtual options due to COVID-19. They also offer short workshops over 4-days at various locations across the US (most are based in Ann Arbor, MI) and each course is taught by a content expert.
Brick and Mortar Workshops
A quick Google search for locations in your area offering workshops can also yield additional statistics training. The University of Pittsburgh, University of Texas in Austin, and the University of Washington all offer workshops (typically during the summer). These programs typically have in-house statistical experts as the instructors, but often bring in other quantitatively-inclined researchers to complement the local expertise. Many universities also have a statistical computing group that offers consulting services or office hours to anyone across the campus. Often, these consulting services may be free for the first one or two visits and, therefore, may prove to be useful if you are stumped by a specific and short-term statistical issue. We don’t have the space to list all such established brick and mortar statistics training locations, so make sure to Google your area for local offerings.
Conference Workshops
An often-overlooked opportunity to enhance your statistical skills is to see if your professional society offers any statistics training. Many scientific conferences, like the Gerontological Society of America, will have statistics trainings offered as either pre-conference workshops or as regular convention programming. These trainings are typically inexpensive to add on to your conference travel and normally include time for one-on-one contact with the instructor or symposium speakers. It is also a great way to make new connections with other researchers using the same methods as you and to learn about the most recent advances in statistical techniques.
Pricing
Price is an important consideration with deciding whether or not to invest in these workshops. Our suggestion is to start off with the many free options. Building a solid foundation in regression, statistical testing, and probability theory is key before diving into the more advanced techniques. Although some courses are excellent and you can become an expert rather quickly, the cost can approach $2,000 for a single course. No, that isn’t a typo! Yes, statistics training can be expensive, but you might consider these trainings to be an important investment for your future scientific career. It is also important to point out that many fee-based workshops have trainee discounts, scholarship opportunities, and/or need-based waivers. Additionally, you might have institutional money available for such trainings, so it does not hurt to talk to your administration to inquire if any funds exist. All of these workshops described above have online portals to make registration seamless, and they provide the necessary receipts/purchase orders to make reimbursements a breeze.
Summary
Taken together, ample opportunities exist for scholars of any career stage to develop, hone, and/or maintain their statistical skills. Whether it be via online tutorials or on-demand, summer, conference, and brick-and-mortar summer workshops, many free and fee-based tools are available to learn introductory skills like regression and ANOVA or to gain knowledge about advanced techniques like growth modeling and machine learning. Developing and maintaining statistical skills are especially important for the APA Division 20 readership who are quant-focused or simply quant-curious. A sophisticated quantitative toolbox can markedly enhance the research questions you ask and answer about adult development and aging. Aging trends suggest that we are living longer and healthier, so regardless of your career stage, it is never too late for methodological and statistical training!