STATLAB CHARTER

StatLab Core Responsibilities

The core responsibilities of the StatLab are to maintain and develop:

• a primary computing resource and statistical information center for Social Science teaching, research and quantitative analysis;
• classrooms and laboratory facilities for Social Science statistical computing;
• in-depth consulting for statistical software, quantitative methods, Social Science data resources, geospatial resources and analysis, and technical developments relevant to Social Science computing; and
• data management, extract, and content support to the Social Science Data Archive of the Social Science Library and Information Systems.

StatLab User Community

The StatLab identifies its primary user community to be the Social Science departments of the Yale Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Facilities and services are tailored to coordinate and provide support for the teaching and research activities of these departments. Over time, the StatLab has also given assistance to faculty and students in the sciences and humanities. The Statlab also provides statistical support and services to Yale's professional schools to the extent that resources allow.

Staffing

The Statlab is staffed by three professionals who share the following responsibilities:

• overall leadership and management of the Lab: planning, administering, and developing the facilities, staff, services, and equipment
• maintaining the StatLab network, equipment, and software
• supervising consultants, training users and providingstatistical consulting
• liaison and outreach activities to faculty, research units and institutes, students, ITS staff, University Libraries staff
• content and data resources consulting and training, and involvement in developing and instituting standards and new technology in Social Science computing
• planning long term enhancements to the Lab services and facilities.

Graduate students with expertise in statistics, statistical software, and quantitative analysis and methods provide walk-in consulting services.

Core Statlab Services

1. Statistical Consulting:
   • expertise in statistical software and statistical methodology with faculty points of referral
   • support for geographic information systems and geospatial analysis.
2. Technical Consulting
   • core technical expertise in equipment, networking, file transfer, and printing services essential to maintaining and upgrading facilities
   • campus licensed statistical software installation support on non-Statlab machines: installation tips, upgrading passwords, writing help sheets
   • ftp and telnet support
   • data management, tape processing, migration to other platforms, etc. for institutional statistical servers
3. Data Consulting and the Social Science Data Archive of SSLIS
   
   • provide individual and course instruction to data users
   • provide consulting in data management, data transfer among platforms and programs
   • provide study and variable level consulting on Social Science data resources
   • interpret technical documentation and resolve data problems
   • design, develop, and maintain a WWW based information system of Internet and SSDA data collections and help
   • convert data files to alternative formats, migrate among software and computing platforms, develop data extract systems
   • participate in developing standards and data management strategies related to data archiving and resource discovery
4. Training and instruction
   
   • course-related workshops
   • statistical software workshops
   • writing and maintaining WWW based help system for software and data access
5. Facilities: provision and renewal of classroom and laboratory space, equipment and software
   
   1. Equipment:
      
      • Cluster equipment: 26 seats in the main StatLab cluster, 14 seats in Social Science Library, 14 workstations and instructor's workstation in the Rosenkranz Technology Classroom.
      • Servers: Windows and Linux
      • equipment review process: review through ACS and faculty channels; best upgrade cycle is 2 years, 3 years maximum
   2. Software:
      
      • acquire, install and configure software on Statlab network and in campus-wide computer clusters;
      • software acquisition principles: seek annual recommendations for additional software from faculty, evaluate and distribute
6. Outreach
   • understand needs of faculty and students re: instructional and research computing
   • develop and encourage faculty involvement in planning, establish faculty committee to maintain contact
   • develop teaching exchanges to provide high level referral of statistical queries
   • maintain the WWW-based information system about StatLab services and facilities
7. Transfer of technological developments from ITS/ACS staff to departments, centers, libraries

Additional services provided as available or at cost

1. Planning and developing"satellite" machines with access to the StatLab software and data resources, in cooperation with Social Science departments and research units.
2. Technical consulting to faculty and students needing help with their own computers and equipment