Our Biostatisticians can assist Gold Coast Health staff in their research from conception to completion:
- Defining research questions and developing the Research Protocol particularly in relation to study design, methodology, and data analysis.
- Advice on who else to contact within the Office for Research Governance and Development (ORGD) or Gold Coast Health in relation to Research Development, Data Operations, Library, Ethics, Governance, Finance.
- Advice on data acquisition, storage, and management ready for analysis.
- Developing a data analysis plan.
- Sample size and power calculations.
- Data analysis.
- Interpretation of analysis results.
- Publication and presentation support.
Our Biostatisticians
Dr Ian Hughes and Assoc. Prof. Mark Jones are available for face-to-face consultations at the locations listed above or via telephone, Teams, or Zoom. For researchers at Robina, it may be more convenient to arrange a meeting with Assos. Prof. Mark Jones at Bond University. Sometimes it is preferable to meet at the researcher’s workplace. In the first instance, we encourage clients to contact our biostatisticians directly.
Biostatistician | Office for Research Governance and Development
ian.hughes2@health.qld.gov.au
P: (07) 5687 8200
Monday to Friday
Gold Coast University Hospital
Level 2 Block E – Pathology and Education
1 Hospital Boulevard
Southport, QLD 4215
Biostatistician | Institute for Evidenced-Based Healthcare
majones@bond.edu.au
P: (07) 5595 5523
Tuesday & Wednesday
Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine
Building 5, Level 2
Bond University
14 Robina Drive
Robina QLD 4226
Thursday & Friday
Gold Coast University Hospital
Bond University Annex
Level 2 Block E - Pathology and Education
1 Hospital Boulevard
Southport QLD 4215
Statistical support
The Office for Research Governance and Development (ORGD) provides, through Gold Coast Health IT, the statistical Software Stata 17. We encourage our researchers to use Stata. Accordingly, we provide Introduction to Stata group classes as well as one-on-one teaching on more advanced aspects of Stata specific to the researchers’ needs. Short videos on the most common uses of Stata are being prepared for our website.
- Click on “IT Support” in the middle of the home screen of your computer.
- Start writing Stata in the search window
- Choose “Stata Install”
- Choose “STATA- Application Support”
- At the bottom of the page click on “Log a job for this”
- Fill in the form. “STATA” will appear as an option in the “Application” window (if not, write it in the next window, “Other/Unknown Software”)
- In the next window, type in the asset number of the computer you want Stata installed on
- Complete the “best way to contact” question
- IT will then install Stata remotely. It should appear on your computer within 48 hours. It will be found under “S” in the list of applications that appears when you click on the windows icon in the bottom left corner of your home screen. The icon can be moved to your desktop.
Dr Ian Hughes and Assoc. Prof. Mark Jones are available to give seminars or workshops to groups such as Departments or specialist trainees on any aspects of statistics, data management, the process of research, or interpretation of research literature. Both Dr Ian Hughes and Assoc. Prof. Mark Jones are involved in the Evidence-Based Practice workshops provided by Bond University’s Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare (IEBH). These workshops are tailored to the specific needs of groups within Gold Coast Health, e.g. Departments, Profession, Specialty. If you are interested, please contact the IEBH for details and to organise a workshop.
General statistical and data management resources as well as more advanced statistics references are also available below.
No matter where you are in your research journey, to get the most out of your consultation it is best to come prepared. If you are still in the early stages of formulating a research question, try to have some idea of what the basic aim is for your research and what the rationale is behind that. You may be asked to forward your Protocol if you have begun writing the Background or to provide some relevant literature prior to the meeting.
For any consult, make a list of any specific questions you may have and be ready to take notes. Remember, research is a team game and the Biostatisticians and the other Staff in the Office for Research Governance and Development (ORGD) are part of your team.
The primary role of the Biostatisticians is to assist you in the statistical aspects of your research. We provide general and specific advice and mentoring in relation to the use of statistical tools such as Excel and Stata. For simple techniques we will demonstrate the technique so that you are able to replicate these for the rest of your analyses. For more complex analyses, we will provide you with background material for the method so that you understand the principles and we will undertake the analysis for you, usually in your presence. We will then go over the results so that you are able to interpret them correctly. If multiple complex analyses of the same type are required it is the expectation that you learn the technique yourself, whilst being mentored, or to seek external statistical assistance.
Large research studies often require there to be an associated Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB). Our Biostatisticians are available to sit on these DSMBs.
Gold Coast Health employees are encouraged to engage in research and to undertake postgraduate research-based degrees. Our Biostatisticians are happy, given capacity and relevant expertise, to be approached to supervise students at Honours to PhD levels.
Statistical resources
Meta-analysis is a quantitative, formal, epidemiological study design used to systematically assess the results of previous research to derive conclusions about that body of research. Typically, but not necessarily, the study is based on randomized, controlled clinical trials.
