Faculty webinar - Why do I need a statistician and what do they need from me? with Dr Zoe Hoare

Statisticians are a vital part of many research teams and provide a skill set that will enhance your research. Not only will a statistician help you design and collect the right data to answer your research question they will be able to analyse it efficiently ensuring the most appropriate and robust methods are used. To quote R A Fisher: “To consult the statistician after an experiment is finished is often merely to ask him to conduct a post mortem examination. He can perhaps say what the experiment died of". A statistician doesn’t just ‘crunch the numbers’ at the end but enhances your design. You wouldn’t necessarily get an electrician in to replace a lightbulb but you would want an expert to rewire your house – statisticians work the same way they can provide the expertise to indicate how you should ‘rewire’ your research.

Dr Zoe Hoare

Zoë Hoare is currently Director and Principal Statistician at North Wales Organisation for Randomised Trials in Health (and Social Care) (NWORTH) - a UKCRC accredited clinical trials unit based at Bangor University. NWORTH currently has a portfolio of active studies that has a total grant value of approximately £28 million with a network of collaborators from across the UK.

Zoë has contributed to a wide portfolio of clinical research studies particularly focusing on the pragmatic evaluation of complex interventions in a variety of health areas. Mental health and dementia trials are of particular interest. Methodologically Zoe is interested in the consideration of composite outcomes within the context of complex interventions, the impact of stop/go criteria on the development of trials and the visualisation of evaluation results to aid interpretation.

Zoë is a member of the editorial board for both British Dental Journal and the journal of Aging and Mental Health, as well as being a Senior Editor for the Pilot and feasibility studies journal. She also acts a funding panel member for Health and Care Research Wales schemes. She regularly reviews for a number of journals and various NIHR and Health and Care Research Wales funding panels,

Submit your question for Zoe to answer during the webinar.