Statistical tools and services
The University offers a wide range of statistical tools and resources for researchers including a full-time statistical consultant, access to databases and survey tools and training in statistics and software.
Statistics consulting
The University employs a full-time statistical consultant to assist staff and postgraduate students in areas of their research that require the use of statistical methods. His brief is to assist clients to help themselves rather than to conduct either research or analysis on their behalf.
To precisely tailor statistical tools and methods to researchers’ problems and queries, it is necessary for the client to provide introductory information about the research project for which statistical assistance is required.
Statistical consultant Dr Pawel Skuza
Room 1.59, Level 1, HDR Central, Central Library.
Ph: (08) 8201 3346
Email: stats.consultant@flinders.edu.au
Flinders University
GPO Box 2100
Adelaide SA 5001
Guidelines relating to the statistical consulting service:
The University employs a full-time statistical consultant to provide assistance to staff, and postgraduate students in areas of their research that require the use of statistical methods. His brief is to assist clients to help themselves rather than to conduct either research or analysis on their behalf.
- In order to precisely tailor statistical tools and methods to researchers’ problems and queries, it is necessary for the client to provide introductory information about the research project for which statistical assistance is required. In addition, contact details are collected.
Please read and complete the “Request for Statistical Consultation” form. - Statistical assistance is primarily provided for staff and postgraduate students (PhD and Master Degrees by Research) undertaking research at Flinders University.
- Master by Coursework students with minor research components are not eligible for statistical consulting, particularly if those projects are a part of a standard component of coursework load such as, for example, assignments in a Research Methods class. However, if the research component has a value of 13 or more units, supervisors can seek additional assistance related to more complex statistical analyses on behalf of their students.
- Supervisors of Honours students can seek additional assistance related to more complex statistical analyses on behalf of their students, particularly in cases of Honours research projects that may lead to a refereed publication.
- As requests from staff and PhD students are treated with higher priority, the statistical consultant may not be able to respond quickly to queries from supervisors of Masters by Coursework and Honours students, and they may have to be placed on a waiting list.
- Undergraduate students are not eligible for one-to-one statistical consultation. However, the Student Learning Centre provides a range of academic support services for them.
- For consultations undertaken for postgraduate students or research assistants under supervision, their supervisors or project managers are strongly encouraged to participate in meetings with their students/subordinates. All email correspondence, materials produced, suggestions given after the consultation, etc. should be shared and discussed by researchers with their supervisors or project managers. Support given by the statistical consultant is only supplementary to guidance and help given by their overseers.
- Researchers are encouraged to consult early in the formulation of a research project so that data are specified and collected in a format that is both manageable and conducive to the appropriate analysis.
- It is recognised that different research problems will require different amounts of consulting time. However, it is expected that on average, the statistical consultant may spend up to 8 hours working per one request for consultation. This includes the necessary time for familiarisation with data and research problems, e-mail communication, reading background literature for the particular research field, self-development, etc.
- It is expected that during consultations, various documents will be collected and produced (data files, research proposals, drafts of dissertations/papers, etc.). All documents will be stored securely, and only the Statistical Consultant (and her/his line manager) will have access to them. The files will be stored, and in due time disposed of, following the university policies on research data / records retention which are in line with the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research.
- The Statistical Consultant will not write dissertations / reports on behalf of the researcher. However, examples of how particular statistical analyses should be presented can be provided.
- An appointment is necessary due to the continuing demands for consulting time. In addition, as researching is a lengthy process and efficient consultation requires familiarity with the particular statistical inquiry, statistical help for “yesterday” will not likely be provided.
- Ad hoc statistical advice over the telephone will not be provided. Seeking a “quick” answer to statistical questions may mask a complex research problem that requires a consultation to talk over all the statistical and research considerations involved.
- Depending on the level of statistical consultant involvement, the support provided by her/him should be recognised by researchers in acknowledgements or by co-authorship. Acknowledgements should report the degree of help provided.
Statistical workshops/tutorials
On a regular basis, throughout the year, our consultant runs statistical workshops that are aimed to be practically orientated with extensive use of the IBM SPSS statistical package and open to all staff and Research Higher Degree students. There are also other workshops/lectures available to all staff and postgraduates.
On a regular basis, throughout the year, our consultant runs statistical workshops that are aimed to be practically orientated with extensive use of the IBM SPSS statistical package. At the same time theoretical considerations related to the selection of a specific statistical test, as well as assumptions involved, are addressed. These courses are run through the Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching and are open to any staff members or Higher Degree Research students of Flinders University.
There are currently 17 workshops available. For details, please click on the appropriate course heading in this structural listing:
Introductory Level
IBM SPSS - Intermediate Level
IBM SPSS - Advanced Level
- Structural Equation Modelling using Amos
- Linear Mixed Models
- Scale Development
- Complex Sample Survey Design / ABS and DSS Confidentialised Datasets
- Programming in IBM SPSS (Syntax, Macros, Custom Dialogs and R programmability extensions)
Other postgraduate students (including Honours) may also attend courses when there are vacancies.
Online Research Methodology Lectures - Center for the Advancement of Research Methods and Analysis (CARMA)
The Library has sponsored University-wide access to quantitative and qualitative online research methodology training provided through the Consortium for the Advancement of Research Methods and Analysis (CARMA). There are over 250 recorded, high-quality lectures available for our staff and students that address the various aspects of undertaking qualitative and quantitative research.
To register you need to use your flinders.edu.au or uni.flinders.edu.au extension email address and register on the CARMA website.
“R” statistical software - Online Training
“R” is a software environment for statistical computing and graphics. Essentially it is a programming language and therefore, not the simplest to use. However, it is available under an open access licence and frequently used by researchers as a first platform in which new statistical procedures are released.
Extensive collection of open online-based R training can be found here. Furthermore, PhD candidates and supervisors can be given a Udemy FU account that covers all Udemy-based workshops.
Introductory Workshops / Lectures run by Student Learning Centre
Workshops / Lectures available through massive open online course (MOOC) mode
For information what is available and for details of the delivery search for statistics on main MOOC providers:
Restricted access data
Flinders University signed agreements with the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the Department of Social Services (DSS) and the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) that entitle our researchers to apply for free of charge access to the following confidentialised datasets:
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) makes a range of data available to university researchers. Some of the data is classified as Confidentialised Unit Record Files (CURFs). CURFs contain unidentified unit record data from most of the key ABS social and labour household surveys. Strict provisions concerning confidentiality and access govern their use. Currently, there are over 200 datasets available.
What is a CURF?
- A Confidentialised Unit Record File (CURF) contains sample data in the form of unit records where the information is not likely to enable the identification of a particular person or organisation. Accordingly, there are no names or addresses of survey respondents in a CURF.
- CURF data is also further confidentialised by reducing the detail of some items (especially locational data) and making small changes to other items such as income.
- CURFs provide the most detailed information which can be released from an ABS survey.
- The basic unit in a CURF may be a household, a family, an income unit or a person. Some CURFs may contain data at more than one unit level.
- To make effective use of a CURF requires basic statistical and analytical skills and ability to understand the concepts underlying the data.
- Most CURFs are supplied in SAS and SPSS format. CURFs from earlier ABS surveys may be in ASCII format.
Types of CURFs
CURFs may be available in either Basic or Expanded format.
Basic CURFs are available through ABS' MicrodataDownload or accessed via the DataLab (see Modes of access to CURFs below). Basic CURF data have protections applied to prevent identification of persons and households. For example, age may be grouped into 5-year categories, country of birth collapsed to broader groupings and the level of geography set.
Expanded CURFs are available only through the RADL system (see Modes of access to CURFs below).
For more information on the benefits and restrictions of the different access' modes refer to the CURF Access Modes and Levels of Detail.
The access to the ABS' Microdata is governed by Responsible User Guide.
What CURFs are available?
The ABS website maintains a list of all available and expected CURFs, and they can be accessed from here. The website includes information on the type of CURF (Basic or Expanded) and modes of access available.
How can I apply for access to a CURF?
Flinders University is a signatory to an agreement between the ABS and Universities Australia concerning the provision and use of CURFs.
Information about the application procedure can be found in here.
Any additional enquiries about the application procedure and use of Australian CURFs at Flinders University should be directed to the Statistical Consultant.
The Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) is a cross-national data archive located in Luxembourg. The Agreement provides access to LIS data for Australian researchers.
The LIS archive contains two primary databases:
- The LIS Database includes income microdata from a large number of countries at multiple points in time.
- The LWS Database includes wealth microdata from a smaller selection of countries.
The main objective of the LIS project is to harmonise and standardise the microdata from the different surveys to facilitate international comparative research. Access is subject to users registering to use LIS by signing an annual pledge and then submitting this to LIS.
For more information about LIS, please refer to the Luxembourg Income Study website.
Enquiries about the application procedure through the Flinders University agreement with the ABS should be directed to the Statistical Consultant.
Our university has entered into an agreement with the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) allowing our researchers to obtain free of charge access to the Survey TableBuilder products.
In addition to a large number of TableBuilders offered along with more detailed versions of the data in the CURFs format, there are over 70 datasets also offered as TableBuilders.
Access the list of available and expected TableBuilder.
Find out more about other TableBuilder products.
To obtain access to the TableBuilder, you will need to:
- Review the registration terms & conditions
- Learn more about the registration procedure following registration instructions. Only instructions how to register under the organisational licence are relevant.
Department of Social Services (DSS)
The Guide to Australian longitudinal studies explains the unique strengths and opportunities offered by the DSS longitudinal data. It also summarises the features of listed below longitudinal studies.
The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey is a household-based panel study which began in 2001. It collects information about economic and subjective well-being, labour market dynamics and family dynamics. Interviews are conducted annually with all adult members of each household. The panel members are followed over time.
Researchers can now apply for access to data from waves 1-23. Subsequent waves will be released on an annual basis.
Enquiries about the application procedure and use of HILDA at Flinders University should be directed to the Statistical Consultant.
The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children aims to examine the impact of Australia's unique social and cultural environment on the next generation and will promote understanding of early childhood development, inform social policy debate, and be used to identify opportunities for early intervention and prevention strategies in policy areas concerning children. It explores family and social issues. It also addresses a range of research questions about children's development and wellbeing. Its longitudinal structure will enable researchers to determine critical periods for the provision of services and welfare support and identify the long-term consequences of policy innovations.
Researchers can now apply for access to data from Waves 1-9. Subsequent waves will be released on a bi-annual basis.
Enquiries about the application procedure and use of LSAC at Flinders University should be directed to the Statistical Consultant.
The Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children (LSIC) is collecting important information about the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, covering areas such as health, culture, education, housing and family relationships.
The study is designed to determine how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children develop resilience, what helps to improve their wellbeing and future, and to recognise links between early childhood experiences and later life outcomes.
Researchers can now apply for access to data from waves 1-14. Subsequent waves will be released on an annual basis.
Enquiries about the application procedure and use of LSIC at Flinders University should be directed to the Statistical Consultant.
The Longitudinal Study of Humanitarian Migrants (BNLA) is a longitudinal study of the settlement experience of humanitarian arrivals in Australia, over five years, from 2013 until 2018.
The project aims to increase understanding of the well-being and experiences of humanitarian migrants settling in Australia. More than 1,500 migrating units (2,399 individuals) were interviewed in the first stage of the study. The study will follow individuals and migrating units through their settlement journey and look at their experiences, challenges, adaptations and outcomes over time.
Researchers can now apply for access to data from Waves 1-6. Subsequent waves will be released on an annual basis.
Enquiries about the application procedure and use of BNLA at Flinders University should be directed to the Statistical Consultant.
Statistical office of the European Union (Eurostat)
Eurostat provides access to 14 listed below datasets. Many of them are longitudinal but also collected in the majority of the European countries. Eurostat Microdata website offers detailed information about each one of them.
- European Community Household Panel
- European Union Labour Force Survey
- Community Innovation Survey
- European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions
- Structure of Earnings Survey
- Adult Education Survey
- European Road Freight Transport Survey
- European Health Interview Survey
- Continuing Vocational Training Survey
- Community Statistics on information Society
- Micro-Moments Dataset
- Household Budget Survey
- Harmonised European Time Use Survey
- Farm Structure Survey
View detailed information about the organisation and availability of the datasets.
Enquiries about the application procedure and use of Eurostat Microdata at Flinders University should be directed to the Statistical Consultant.
Technical assistance
The Flinders University statistical consultant also acts as a technical point of contact for IBM SPSS & NVivo. If you experienced any technical problems with the installation, licensing or using of the software, please email listed below details to the Statistical Consultant.
(a) Full name
(b) Flinders University email address
(c) Contact phone number
(d) Which college/professional service you are from?
(e) Detailed problem description which preferably should be accompanied by the screen snapshot with the error message produced by the IBM SPSS. You can use Print Screen key on your keyboard and paste the picture into the email.
(f) Information about which version of IBM SPSS you are working with.
(g) Information about the operating system and configuration of the computer on which you experienced the technical problem.
Statistical resources
While all researchers are encouraged to discuss their specific statistical inquiries with the statistical consultant, this page contains references and links to resources for introductory statistics as well as using IBM SPSS for statistical analysis.
- Moore, D. S., McCabe, G. P., & Craig, B. A. (2012 or later editions). Introduction to the practice of statistics (7th ed.). New York: W.H. Freeman.
- Tabachnick, B.G., and Fidell, L.S. (2001 or later editions) Using Multivariate Statistics, 4th edition (Boston: Allyn and Bacon)
- Sheskin, D. (2007 or later editions). Handbook of parametric and nonparametric statistical procedures (4th ed.). Boca Raton: Chapman & Hall/CRC.
- Hogg, R.V., and Tanis, E.A. (2001 or later editions) Probability and Statistical Inference, 6th edition (New Jersey: Prentice-Hall)
- Freedman, D., Pisani, R., and Purves, R. (1998 or later editions) Statistics, 3rd edition (New York, Norton)
- Books by G. David Garson
- Introductory Statistics: Concepts, Models and Applications by David Stockberger, Southwest Missouri State University
- Multivariate Statistics: Concepts, Models and Applications by David Stockberger, Southwest Missouri State University.
- The MathWorks Statistics Toolbox
- Gray, C. D., & Kinnear, P. R. (2012 or later editions). IBM SPSS statistics 19 made simple. New York: Psychology Press.
- Field, A. P. (2013 or later editions). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics (4th edition. ed.). Los Angeles: Sage.
- Pallant, J. F. (2011 or later editions). SPSS Survival Manual: a step by step guide to data analysis using SPSS (4th ed.). Crows Nest, N.S.W.: Allen & Unwin.
- Landau, S., & Everitt, B. (2004 or later editions). A handbook of statistical analyses using SPSS. Boca Raton: Chapman & Hall/CRC.
- Resources to help you learn and use IBM SPSS by UCLA resources
- Companion website for "Discovering Statistics Using IBM SPSS" by Andy Field
- IBM SPSS Tools, Code Archives, Tips, FAQs and Tutorials by Raynald Levesque
- Journey in Survey Research by John Hall
Specialised statistical software
There is a dedicated PC located within HDR Central, Level 1, Central Library with various specialised statistical software intended for short term use by staff and HDR students. This initiative aims to offer our researchers quick access to seven user-friendly programs which may allow undertaking statistical analyses not readily or easily available in centrally installed IBM SPSS or R.
Current packages
Comprehensive Meta-Analysis v3 (CMA) --- CMA is a very robust and user-friendly software for performing a meta-analysis.
EViews 10 --- Eviews is software primarily dedicated to time-series oriented analysis.
Mplus 8.10 (Base Program and Combination Add-On) --- Mplus is specialised software for structural equation modelling and multilevel modelling.
NCSS 2022 --- NCSS is a general statistical package but outperforming IBM SPSS in Diagnostic Tests, Agreement Evaluation, Quality Control, Zero-Inflated Regressions.
PRIMER-7 and PERMANOVA --- PRIMER-7 is leading software for multivariate statistics with a strong following in the biological sciences.
Stata 18 SE --- Stata is a very good general statistical package with a strong following in the health sciences.
Booking the stats PC
Stats PC is entered on the LibCal Room Booking software as one of the study spaces managed by the Library and with the same conditions of use.
Book your time on the Stats PC in the same way you would book a Library or Hub study space.
HDR students or staff needing assistance or with questions about the software should make an appointment with the Statistical Consultant.
Online survey tools
The university does not offer technical support in setting up the surveys in any OST. However, all the major OSTs have very intuitive engines and extensive assistance through the online based help and tutorials.This is also the case with Qualtrics who offers various webinars and other educational resources. These are available online at the Qualtrics Support website.
Questions about psychometric and research aspects of designing your questionnaire can be addressed by the university statistical consultant. Furthermore, a number of OST related publications are available in the library, to mention but a few:
- Sue, V. M., & Ritter, L. A. (2012). Conducting online surveys (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage.
- Tourangeau, R., Conrad, F. G., & Couper, M. (2013). The science of web surveys. Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press.
- Van Selm, M., & Jankowski, N. (2006). Conducting Online Surveys. Quality and Quantity, 40(3), 435-456.
- Fielding, N., Lee, R. M., & Blank, G. (2008). The SAGE handbook of online research methods. Los Angeles ;: London : SAGE.
- Gottliebson, D., Layton, N., & Wilson, E. (2010). Comparative effectiveness report: Online survey tools. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 5(6), 401-410.
- Marsden, P. V., & Wright, J. D. (2010). Handbook of survey research (2nd ed.). Bingley: Emerald.
- Survey delivery options - Use of OST should be driven by your research aims, and it may not always be the best option for a robust data collection. Above listed references provide an overview of limitations that come with using only online surveys.
- Branding - adding the University's logo to your survey will identify it as credible. Find more information here.
- Accessibility - if your survey needs to be accessed by people using assistive technologies, make sure the survey tool supports that.
- Data Management Plan – Think about how you will manage your data after it has been collected. Some research projects may require a dedicated Data Management Plan.
- Pilot the survey - Test the survey yourself and, if possible, with the small pilot sample. Make sure the questions work the way they should from the technical as well as research points of view.
Open access data
Research Data Australia
Research Data Australia is a very extensive government sponsored tool to find, access, and reuse data for research. Over one hundred Australian research organisations, government agencies, and cultural institutions contributed so far facilitating discoverability of over 200,000 different datasets.
Data.gov.au
Data.gov.au is a federal government initiative aimed at encouraging researchers to find, access and reuse public data. There are close to 100,000 datasets which could be explored.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
The Statistics section of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) website gives you access to the full range of ABS statistical and reference information. It is updated weekdays at 11.30am (Canberra time) and allows you to conveniently access a large range of ABS statistical and reference information, free of charge.
While there are different ways of exploring available statistical information, browsing by using "Topic" or "Title" may be a good starting point.
Australian Data Archive (ADA)
A brief of the Australian Data Archive (ADA) is to provide a national service for the collection and preservation of computer readable data and to make this data available for further analysis. There are about 2,000 datasets archived with the ADA that can be accessed by researchers, with most without any access restriction being imposed upon them.
Inter-Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR)
Because Flinders University is an ACSPRI member, there is an additional opportunity for our researchers to explore the datasets that are stored in the Inter-Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR). It is the largest data archive in the world and holds a vast amount of American and international data.
Google Dataset Search
In September 2018 Google unveiled a new search engine dedicated to helping researchers to find datasets. View the background information about this initiative, and tips for researchers interested in facilitating the discovery of their datasets.
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