THE IMPACT OF WORKING IN A STATISTICAL COLLABORATION LABORATORY ON THE STATISTICS STUDENT COLLABORATORS

Abstract

Graduate level statistics education curricula often emphasize technical instruction in theory and methodology but can fail to provide adequate practical training in applications and collaboration skills. We argue that a statistical collaboration center (“stat lab”) structured in the style of the University of Colorado Boulder’s Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Statistical Analysis (LISA) is an effective mechanism for providing graduate students with necessary training in technical, non-technical, and job-related skills. We summarize the operating structure of LISA, and then provide evidence of its positive impact on students via analyses of a survey completed by 123 collaborators who worked in LISA between 2008–15 while it was housed at Virginia Tech. Students described their work in LISA as having had a positive impact on acquiring technical (94%) and non-technical (95%) statistics skills. Five-sixths (83%) of the students reported that these skills will or have helped them advance in their careers. We call for the integration of stat labs into statistics and data science programs as part of a comprehensive and modern statistics education, and for further research on students’ experience in these labs and the impact on student outcomes.