Examples
Worked examples
- Is an instance
A biostatistician who designed the analytic plan and ran all primary analyses, listed as an author under CRediT 'Formal analysis'
Counter-examples
Looks similar, but isn't
- Not an instance
A 10-minute conversation about which t-test to use is statistical advice but typically below the threshold for named credit
Editorial commentary
Statistical consultancy is advice or analysis work provided by a statistician to a research project — study design and sample-size calculation, the analytic plan, model selection, analysis code, or interpretation of quantitative results — that shapes the work’s findings. The threshold for authorship versus acknowledgement turns on how substantive and central that input was to the paper’s actual claims.
How it differs from related terms: CRediT deliberately separates Methodology (designing the analytic approach) from Formal analysis (executing statistical or computational analysis) precisely to make this kind of contribution legible; a statistician who designed the analytic plan and ran the primary models typically qualifies for one or both. This is narrower than methodology consultancy, which covers non-statistical design questions too, such as sampling and instrument choice.
A short, bounded exchange — “which test should I use for this comparison” — is real statistical advice but typically sits below the threshold most journals expect for named credit; sustained involvement in the analytic plan or code does not.
References
- NISO CRediT Standard, ANSI/NISO Z39.104-2022
- American Statistical Association Ethical Guidelines (2018)
Also known as
Statistical advice · Biostatistical consultancy
Machine-readable encodings
Use in your systems
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