Centre for Regional Engagement
Centre for Rural Health and Community Development

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The Applied Statistics Unit (ASU)

The Applied Statistics Unit (ASU) was developed in 2002 in direct response to regional business and industry personnel requesting access to training and consultancy services in the specialist fields of data analysis, effective survey and sample techniques and data presentation skills. The ASU has provided research, analysis, and consultation services to businesses, corporations, universities and other education and training organisations, regional development boards, hospitals and health services and education.

 

What we do

• The ASU has close links with the School of Health Sciences and the Spencer Gulf Rural Health School (SGRHS). The activities include:

  • Support for academic staff and postgraduate students with data analysis, questionnaire design and report writing. The main associations are with Physiotherapy, Anthropometry, Food and Nutrition and Pharmacology.

  • Seminars are held on request. These may be based on a specialised topic or may be a general course in statistical theory.

  • The ASU will be running a series of advanced courses in statistical analysis for academic staff and graduate/postgraduate students.

  • Statistical support to the Evaluation Unit within the SGRHS  

• The ASU has research ties with Flinders University with respect to research into gambling behaviour, chronic disease self-management and autism. It also provides consulting services to the University of Queensland in the study of associations into depression and drug use.

• The ASU provides academic support within the Centre for Regional Engagement (CRE). This support is available across all program within the CRE.

• The ASU can deal with very large data sets since we have an extensive suite of data mining software. Data can be drilled down and examined for associations and robust predicting estimators can be established. The application of Neural Networks is a particular field of expertise of the ASU.

Our Clients

These have included (apart from the above-mentioned):

• The Whyalla City Council

• OneSteel

• The Whyalla Economic Development Board

• The Eyre Peninsula Natural Resources Management Board

• The Gowrie Training Centre

Software Resources

The ASU has arguably, the most extensive suite of statistical software of any university campus in South Australia. Apart from the main commercial packages (SPSS, STATISTICA, STATA, SYSTAT), we have a large array of software that is designed for a particular application. All software consists of the most up-to-date versions. The ASU is in the continual process of developing new in-house software as needs arise. As a result we have the capacity to undertake almost every type of data analysis.

The Teaching-Research Associations

The activities of the ASU have allowed a new dimension to be introduced to the teaching environment. Students are exposed to the more real-world scenarios that are encountered in statistical analysis rather than the exposure to essentially fake data sets that are common in text books. An appreciation and realisation that data analysis is thinking rather than a mechanical process is thus emphasised and reinforced.

Director of the ASU

John Petkov D.Sc, B. App.Sc; M.Sc.

Click here to visit Johns Home Page
 

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