Paid Projects
The Statistical Laboratory, originally established in 1977 to provide statistical consulting
services for the faculty and students of the University, has expanded its mission to include
contract consulting with industrial, university, government and other private clients.
Through its ties with a research statistics department, a university statistical laboratory may be
primarily associated with modern, sophisticated data analysis. However, the Stat Lab at USC has
experience in all phases of a research project including:
- experimental design
- data collection
- data entry and management
- data description and presentation
- data analysis
- reports and presentations
We have also accumulated extensive experience with survey projects and can provide help in
designing survey instruments, developing survey sampling plans and conducting surveys. The Stat Lab
has administered surveys by phone, mail, personal interview and indirect observation.
Recent Stat Lab projects have included the following clients:
Turner Environmental Services. The Stat Lab developed statistical analysis to aid in the
spatial and temporal modeling of several analytes in a variety of environmental conditions. We
developed spatiotemporal models for analytes in monitoring wells at waste storage and landfill
sites and developed tests for trends over time.
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. The Stat Lab has been retained to provide
consulting on miscellaneous freshwater fisheries projects, including growth curve modeling of
largemouth bass in SC’s reservoirs, and population estimation of anadromous species in the
Santee-Cooper lakes. Each year, we conduct training in statistical methods found most useful over
the course of that year.
SC Department of Public Safety. The Stat Lab has designed and analyzed the annual survey of
statewide seat-belt compliance for over ten years. Field surveys in 16 counties are organized and
drivers and front-seat passengers are monitored for compliance. The Stat Lab uses stratified
multistage sampling and computes Horvitz-Thompson-type estimators and standard errors of compliance
rates.
United States Army. The Stat Lab has assisted the Soldier Support Institute in assessing the
effectiveness of psychological instruments in screening individuals for recruiter training. This
work involves the conduct of analyses, along with the production of presentation quality graphs and
the maintenance of databases.
Bosch Corporation. The Stat Lab assisted Bosch staff in analyzing short run control charts,
and modified Minitab software for Bosch use in future analysis of these control charts. We also
analyzed short run process data and developed short run process control charges.
Project Goal. The Stat Lab evaluated student enrichment programs at two inner city high
schools in Columbia, SC. This project involved the conduct of surveys, statistical analysis of data
and ethnographic observations and interviews of program providers and program participants.
South Carolina Alliance for Minority Participation. The Stat Lab has served as the evaluator
of this project, part of a National Science Foundation initiative, for 9 years. Staff are engaged
in a variety of activities, including statistical analysis, data base maintenance and ethnographic
observations and interviews.
Clemson University/USGS. The Stat Lab is helping with modeling the impact of reservoir
management on an important ecosystem in the Santee River basin. We are using transfer function
models to relate stage data from various rivers in the Santee River watershed. These models will
be used to study different flow-routing regimes as part of an overarching model developed by the
Natural Heritage Institute for the Coastal Conservation League.
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