Their collaboration will expand the BERD Core’s reach, bringing in the expertise of the SQuAD team to strengthen and diversify consultation services.
In moving Advance RI-CTR Quantitative Consults to the SQuAD team, we are also switching to a fee for service model. This system will ensure that BERD Core faculty will have staff support to address more complex qualitative data analysis needs and it will grow a pathway to Core sustainability, allowing us to be financially nimble, responsive, and efficient in responding to the needs of the scientific community. Investigators will receive up to 5 free hours of consultation and/or quantitative/qualitative analysis from the SQuAD team and will then be charged an approved university negotiated rate for anything after the 5 hours.
Investigators at any Advance RI-CTR partner institution (BUH, CNE, URI or the VA) are able to access SQuAD services. To request a consultation visit the Advance RI-CTR website and fill out the Consult Request Form. Our expert navigators will set you up for a consultation with the appropriate team member that matches your needs.
Housed at Brown University’s School of Public Health, SQuAD advances the science and practice of survey research and data analysis by providing expert services, conducting methodological studies in public health and medicine, and delivering training in survey design, data collection, and analysis. SQuAD supports investigators across clinical and behavioral research through consultation, collaboration, and capacity-building.
The Core is led by Dr. Melissa Clark, a survey methodologist and Professor in the Departments of Health Services Policy & Practice and Obstetrics and Gynecology, who has served as Director of SQuAD since 2019. Dr. Shira Dunsiger, Ph.D., Associate Director of Analytics, is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Biostatistics, and Psychiatry and Human Behavior, and has been a key member of SQuAD for the past year and a half.
Together, they lead a team of faculty and staff members with extensive experience in proposal and study design, survey development, data collection, statistical analysis, and data reporting. SQuAD maintains a state-of-the-art telephone call center with eleven computer-assisted interview stations for quantitative and qualitative research in both English and Spanish. The call center operates mornings, afternoons, and evenings to maximize participant access and survey or qualitative interview completion.
Types of services SQuAD can provide consultations for: survey design, power analyses, data analytic plans, data management (including qualtrics, REDcap), wearable device data support, survey weighting, statistical analysis (longitudinal, cross-sectional, national data) as well as qualitative design and analysis.
We did a short interview with our new BERD Core Co-Leads – enjoy!
What motivated you to pursue a career that bridges methodological expertise and applied health research?
- Shira: I went to college with the intent to study biology. I thought it would be a way to help people. I quickly (week 2) learned that it wasn’t my calling (it’s a story that involves a kitten and a lab). The saga ended with me as a math major. I love numbers, but more than that, I love numbers that are used for good. The intersection of math, statistics and applied health research is where I feel like I can use my skills and help people.
- Melissa: When I was young, I struggled with math. However, I had some really good teachers who saw potential in me and challenged me to pursue math and science. I still enjoy the challenge of finding practical methodological approaches to address medical and public health questions that, if solved, can have direct impacts on people’s lives.
What interests you most about stepping into this co-lead role with the BERD Core?
- Shira: I love a supporting role. It excites me to work with colleagues around the state to provide quantitative support to help move their research forward. CTR took a chance on me years ago in the form of a pilot award, and I really like the idea of giving back to a community that in part raised me.
- Melissa: Being a part of the BERD Core provides me with the opportunity to work with investigators doing interesting work on important medical and public health topics
What are you looking forward to this academic year?
- Shira: The energy students bring to campus is always my favorite part of the academic year.
- Melissa: I always look forward to spending time with the students in my classes. Students bring energy and new ideas that motivate me to keep doing the work that I do.
Outside of work, what keeps you energized and inspired?
- Shira: This feels like an opportunity to shamelessly talk about my dog! Dogs’ needs are simple – to be loved, to be walked, to be fed (mine would trade me for a piece of cheese!). Sometimes I think it’s hard to focus on the simple pleasures especially when we are all drowning in work and life. But dogs bring us back. It’s just that simple for them to feel happy.
- Melissa: In the warmer seasons, I spend as much time outside as possible, preferably in my gardens or on the golf course. During COVID, I learned to quilt so during the colder seasons, I enjoy the creativity of designing and sewing quilts.
We are excited to provide SQuAD’s expertise to our CTR community and to welcome Drs. Clark and Dunsiger to the program. To learn more about SQuAD see the below links!