Policies

Biostatistics Group

The Biostatistics Group promotes a research model in which the statistician is a partner in the research effort. As such we can be of best service when we are involved early in the research effort. Our basic policies are outlined below to help explain how we operate. Exceptions to these policies must be approved by the Associate Dean for Clinical Research and Development.

Grant Policies

• Consulting for grant preparation is offered without cost provided the statistician will be supported by the grant should it be funded.
• Grant support is typically provided as a % FTE.
• For statisticians funded via %FTE on a grant, shared credit of indirect costs should be no less than 5%.
• The degree of support is determined individually for each proposal and reflects the statistician’s duties and degree of involvement with the study, but for named statisticians, the %FTE should be no less than 5%.
• In any case, a biostatistician reserves the right to decline to participate on a grant if they are unable to negotiate a reasonable percent effort with the investigator.
• Data analysis conducted for the preparation of a grant is billable work (see below for hourly rate).
• After a grant has been awarded, shared credit should not be reduced.
• After a grant has been awarded, biostatisticians should not be converted from %FTE to hourly consultants.
• Reduction in %FTE on a funded grant must be commensurate with a reduction in the statistician’s duties.

Hourly Consulting Policies

• There is no charge for an initial meeting for a new client to discuss a project.
• The hourly rate for fee-for-service work will be $75 for internal projects.
• The hourly rate for fee-for-service work will be $125 for external projects.
• An external project is a project whose principal investigator is not a University of Missouri—Columbia (or University Hospital) employee.
• Involvement with external projects is at the sole discretion of the individual statistician.
• Expedited projects (48 hrs or less turnaround) will be billed at the external client rate.

Authorship

The authorship list on a scientific publication identifies those who are responsible for the integrity of the results as well as those who should be credited for the findings. Thus, co-authorship is appropriate when the statistician has made a substantial intellectual contribution to the design, analysis, or interpretation of the results. The assignment of authorship is a matter of scientific integrity and is independent of funding. In general, the Biostatistics Group can not exchange for authorship in lieu of payment for services, and payment for services does not preclude authorship credit.