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Thesis and Dissertation Advisors

DR. VICTORIA BRIONES
Education and Psychology Statistics - Data Analysis

DR. VICTORIA BRIONES graduated with a Ph.D. in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University. While completing her graduate studies, she taught applied regression analysis to graduate students in education and psychology. Students enjoyed her regression course because she was able to translate complex statistical concepts into a language that the “stats phobic” students could easily understand. Victoria was also an assistant lecturer in research methods (and received the highest mean evaluation for teaching performance). After graduating, she was a research vellow at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. As a fellow, she conducted statistical analyses and wrote articles on negotiation behavior and conflict resolution with her former dissertation adviser.

In the last two years, Victoria has worked as a statistical consultant, helping graduate students in psychology, education, nursing, biology, and business hone their study hypotheses, arrive at better operational definitions of their study variables, and improve procedures to increase the internal and/or external validity of their study. She also performed general statistical procedures such as reliability analyses, non-parametric tests (e.g., Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis, and chi-square tests), t-tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA), analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and linear regression. Further, she conducted multivariate tests such as multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), logistic regression, and structural equation modeling (SEM; using AMOS, LISREL, and EQS). Victoria also created summary tables and graphs of statistical findings and helped students interpret their study results. More importantly, she enjoyed explaining basic statistical procedures and findings to clients who had a limited understanding of such concepts.

Scope: research methods, reliability analyses, t-tests, ANOVA, repeated-measures ANOVA, ANCOVA, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, multiple linear regression, logistic regression, MANOVA, structural equation modeling (AMOS, LISREL, and EQS)

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LYNETTA CAMPBELL
Mathematics - Statistics - Data Analysis

Lynetta Campbell holds an M.S. in Mathematics, an M.S. in Management Science, a B.S. in Chemical Engineering. 

Ms. Campbell worked twelve years in the Chemical Process Industry, during which time she participated in the design, construction, and start-up of projects in polystyrenics. However, it was her work in the implementation of statistical quality control programs that lead her to focus on data collection and analysis.

Ms. Campbell teaches mathematics and statistics.  Her students write that “she explains things clearly and does not make anyone feel stupid for asking questions.”  She is a CRLA-certified tutor who takes great pride in helping students come to “own” the mathematical knowledge necessary to succeed in their chosen fields. 

She has assisted graduate students with their data analysis in fields as diverse as engineering, education, and public health.  She can assist clients with their initial exploratory data analysis, usually with a graphical approach to viewing the data. She makes sure each client understands the basics, such as how to properly state the null and alternative hypotheses, and how to test for equivalence using procedures such as independent sample or paired sample t-tests.  She routinely helps clients in the selection of the proper regression methods to employ, helping them to understand generalized linear models, logistic regression, and logit and loglinear models.  Her ultimate goal is always that the client gains a full understanding of what the data has to say.  In this manner, she has worked with clients whose data was highly qualitative, such as survey data, and she has assisted students with highly quantitative data involving modeling and forecasting.  She is highly proficient with SPSS, and R statistical software and programming languages.

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PROF. B. COLLINS
Social Psychology - Research Methods

PROF. COLLINS is Emeritus Professor of Psychology at UCLA. His numerous publications cover social psychology, applied social psychology, research methods, attitude change, persuasion, and social influence, Dissonance Theory, the design and evaluation of questionnaire measures, interviewing, health education, and community-based participatory research. These publications use a wide variety of statistical analyses. He served as Director of Research at Healthy African American Families II. He has taught at Yale and Stanford and was a Prof. of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin. He has written a textbooks on social psychology and research methods. He coauthored a book on Theories of Attitude Change. He has served and chair and vice chair of the human subjects protection committee (IRB). He has been an advisor for over a hundred undergraduate honors theses and MA and PhD theses. He has served as a social-psychology expert witness in court cases. His BS and MA were in communication at Northwestern University. He has focuses on one-on-one mentoring on activities ranging from: (a) the choice of a research topic that is relevant to the interests and skills of a particular student, (b) the identification of the most relevant theories, (c) the development of hypotheses, (d) research design, (e) the organization of research writing, (f) methods sections, (g) data analyses and the presentation results, and (h) the interpretation of results.
E-mail:
bcollins
at
dissertationadvisors.com

Research Interests

  • Applied Social Psychology
  • Close Relationships
  • Communication
  • Culture/Ethnicity
  • Ethics/Morality
  • Health
  • Interpersonal Processes
  • Person Perception
  • Persuasion/Social Influence
  • Prejudice/Stereotyping
  • Research Methods/Assessment
  • Self/Identity

Services for psychology graduate students and researchers:

  • Provide you with customized tutoring in all aspects of a research project that is tailored to your interests and skills.
  • Help you select and formulate solid research questions (hypotheses).
  • Help you learn to use literature searches and reference tools.
  • Identify a strategy and keywords for your literature search.
  • Help identify the most relevant theories.
  • Provide theoretical guidance on content.
  • Help identify the most relevant prior research.
  • Assist with literature review searches.
  • Provide recommendations regarding structure, organization, arguments, and ideas.
  • Suggest research designs.
  • Help with writing the methods section.
  • Suggest specific statistical tests of your hypotheses.
  • Tutor you in the use of statistical packages to conduct your statistical analyses.
  • Conduct statistical analyses and help prepare tables and graphs.
  • Tutor you in writing your conclusions in clear English (within ethical boundaries).
  • Help with the interpretation of results.
  • Revise for clarity, precision, and conciseness.
  • Incorporate input from degree-granting institution’s advisors/mentors and committee members.
  • Prepare you for your oral defense and/or comprehensive exams.
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TOM DAVIDSON
Organizational/Industrial Psychology

Dr. Tom Davidson has been an advisor on more than a hundred research committees for students who have achieved their doctorate or master's degree. He specializes in students who are near the beginning of their thesis or dissertation work. He will help you choose a topic, select a quantitative or qualitative methodology, and develop an effective research design. Dr. Davidson has a great deal of research experience, including hundreds of research studies for private industry. He can quickly hone in on key constructs and measures, practical methodological designs and clear statistical tests for your thesis or dissertation study. And he keeps students focused on doing only what is necessary to graduate with their master's or doctorate degree as soon as possible. Dr. Davidson takes the confusion out of thesis and dissertation development, helping students save time and money by making swift progress.

"Dr. Davidson  was not only helpful but crucial in my Ph.D. journey.  He inspired me to identify a meaningful topic, control my topic scope, and formulate workable hypotheses.  He is particularly insightful in quantifying concepts in abstract domains like leadership, and effectively drives students to operationalize variables.  While completing a dissertation is a painfully long process, Dr. Davidson  patiently encouraged his students to go forward each day, and always with a sense of humor.  He is always available to respond to students' questions and requests, and never procrastinates.  I will forever be grateful to Dr. Davidson , who has become my role model when supervising other students." - Paul K. Sin

"Dr. Davidson had a profound impact on my dissertation experience and was instrumental to my successful completion. Thank you so very much Dr. Davidson , for being a great thinker and scholar, demonstrating tremendous patience, and providing reflective and generative guidance." - Don Pomraning

"I would like to thank Dr. Davidson for his patience, constructive feedback, guidance, encouragement and most of all for his ability to treat others as scholars in our own rights." - Melissa Minardo

"Dr. Davidson encouraged me consistently and brought clarity to a very scary process. He helped me define and simplify my research ideas into a manageable project, while maintaining the meaning of the study. I am so thankful for his approach." - Brigit Olsen

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MARGARET EATON
Theology - Religion - Hebrew - Greek

Academic Qualifications:

Doctor of Philosophy (religious studies)
Bachelor of Divinity (classical Hebrew and koine Greek)
Bachelor of Arts (religious studies)
Diploma for Graduates (linguistics)

Dr. Eaton is a distance educator in theological education and a translation consultant with the World Bible Translation Center.

Consulting: Classical Hebrew; Old Testament issues, such as oral tradition, literature, history, exegesis, theology; Koine Greek; New Testament issues; history; exegesis; theology.

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DEBRA FISHER
Education - Instructional Design - Communications

DEBRA FISHER , M.S.Ed, B.A., is president and owner of an independent education, learning, and communications consulting company that serves both individual graduate learners and institutions of higher education. When working with graduate learners, Debra perceives her role as that of a personal writing coach and academic advisor, providing guidance and encouragement during the prospectus, proposal, analysis, and publication phases of scholarly writing. Whether helping clients brainstorm a researchable thesis; providing theoretical guidance relative to research focus and/or positional development; recommending structural and organizational revisions to enhance the clarity and cohesion of an argument; or editing for grammar, mechanics and punctuation, she customizes her services to meet the specific needs of her clients. More than achieving the completion and committee approval of a scholarly manuscript, clients appreciate Debra’s emphasis on the development of skills that help them communicate effectively using all the techniques of good writing—skills that serve them well beyond their graduate program. Debra has enjoyed coaching-advising relationships with hundreds of learners who represent a broad spectrum of academic disciplines, and all have been awarded their graduate degrees.

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LES FOXMAN
Public Relations - Media - Mass Communications - Journalism

Les Foxman has been a public relations professor at Utah State University and the University of Utah.

He has a great deal of empathy for those involved with extensive writing projects and he is willing to help writers meet the challenge at virtually any stage of the writing process – from framing good research questions to presenting results and conclusions in clear, detailed language. He works closely with students in developing the appropriately narrow focus essential to writing effective introductions, conclusions and abstracts. Likewise, he helps students work through the systematic procedures for identifying relevant theoretical literature, substantiating the significance of the research problem, describing research variables, and demonstrating how the study advances the academic discipline’s knowledge base. Well versed in the full spectrum of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies common to public relations and mass communications, he also works with students on framing the valid research protocol for their theses and dissertations.

He is comfortable in a fairly wide realm of topics, which extend beyond public relations, including journalism history, popular culture, criticism, integrated marketing communication, public policy issue management, crisis communication, and media message planning and management for organizations.

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EMIL FREEMAN
Polymer Science - Chemical Engineering - Data Analysis Using JMP

Dr. Emil Freeman is an experienced statistician and polymer scientist/engineer. As an internal consultant for a major rubber company he helped many associates solve R&D and quality assurance problems by identifying their root cause. As a statistician in the pharmaceutical industry he analyzed stability studies to predict shelf lives, designed and analyzed studies of biological, chemical and manufacturing processes, and solved problems for quality control statisticians faced with "unusual situations". His independent consulting assignments have covered a wide range: promotional games, tire life studies, agricultural experiments, electronic signals. He is an expert at designing experiments to fit each customers needs: fractional factorials, composite designs, incomplete block designs, Youden Squares, etc. He is an expert in Multiple Criteria Optimization and analyzing "messy data" (multiple error terms, mixed models, components of variation, regression, ANOVA, ANOCOVA). He is an expert user of JMP software, and was a beta-tester and contract JMP instructor for the SAS Institute.

He has mentored and tutored a wide range of individuals, from children and adolescents with learning disabilities to non-statistician scientists and engineers. He loves to hear the magic words, "This isnt as hard as I thought it would be."

He has published eight peer-reviewed papers and has four US patents. He holds a BS from MIT, a PhD and MA from Princeton University, and an MS from Case Western Reserve University.

Appraisals said, "...recognized and much-sought internal consultant and expert in statistical methods and their application to real problem solving.... Excellent listener and dissector of the key needs/wishes of his customers.... Focuses their work to answer their desired questions, and creates experimental approaches specific to each problem."

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VALRIE ANN GERARD, M.A., Ph.D.
Content Editor/Writer: Science and Medicine

Scope:  biology, botany, chemistry, ecology, environmental policy, environmental science, evolutionary biology, geography, geology, marine science, mathematical modeling, medicine, oceanography, physiology, veterinary medicine, zoology, and related scientific fields.

Academic Editing/Writing Experience:

  • Science and medical editor and writer since 2001.
  • Specializes in organization, interpretation, and clear presentation of complex information.
  • Helps clients (including non-native English speakers) improve their writing skills for future projects.
  • Past and current clients from Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Columbia, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, Patagonia, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Thailand, Uganda, the U.K., the U.S., and Venezuela.
  • More than fifty publications and one million dollars worth of successful grant proposals.
  • Over thirty years of teaching experience, including scientific writing courses.
  • Served as advisor and/or mentor to many graduate and undergraduate students.
  • Past experience as associate editor and/or reviewer for over two dozen scientific journals, including Science, and government funding agencies.

Provides fast turnaround.
Helps you submit your dissertation, thesis, proposal, or project on time.

Graduate students:  Many students who fail to finish their degrees quit in the writing phase.  Don’t become a “dissertation dropout”!  

  • Get help with the thesis/dissertation proposal stage -  Val provides help with your proposal, including literature review and research plan. 
  • Get help with methods, data interpretation and presentation – Val specializes in helping you write clear, concise, and accurate Methods and Results sections, and in designing figures and tables.
  • Get help writing the final thesis/dissertation – Val shows you how to organize your material, including your Literature Review and Discussion, and polishes your writing.
  • Get help with revisions – Val helps you make changes in response to comments by your advisor and committee members.
  • Get help with the defense – Val can help you prepare your presentation, and will provide you with practice sessions if desired.
  • Get help with publications – Val will guide you through the manuscript preparation process and help you get your work published.

Undergraduate students:  Most students do not take any writing courses beyond English 101.  Term papers and theses can be major hurdles in completing your degree.  Don’t trip over those hurdles!

  • Get help with science projects – Val can help you design your project and interpret the data.
  • Get help with term papers – Val provides assistance with term papers, helping you improve the organization and writing.
  • Get help with your thesis – Val can help you organize and write an undergraduate thesis.

"Dr. Val Gerard was extremely helpful and was really in tune with what I wanted. Her comments on my article are precise and informative. Will definitely ask for her service if I need help with manuscripts or grant proposals." - Jan Chang, PhD Candidate, UMass Boston

"Val, thank you SO much! I just met with my advisor to discuss this paper and am feeling much better about it, thanks to your tremendous help. I have to make some updates based on his feedback, which are primarily additions to the study intros & discussions and technical changes to the analyses, so I'm happy too that none of your work will be wasted. I wish I had collaborators like you! I'm surprised and pleased to be working with someone who's fast, meticulous, and so honest in keeping track of time and letting me know that the project came in under budget. And thank you again for getting this done so quickly - I'm thoroughly impressed." - Doctoral student, Harvard Business School, 2011 (On file with network coordinator)

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TOM GRANOFF
Social Science Statistics - Data Analysis - psychology

Scope: multivariate statistics, behavioral sciences, data processing, marketing research, forensic psychology, research design, SPSS, survey research, medical research, web-based surveys, quantitative methods, focus groups, interviewing techniques, qualitative methods, correlational analysis, research methodologist, ANOVA, MANOVA, logistic regression, multiple regression, discriminant function analysis, factor analysis, Method's Chapter editing, Final Oral examination preparation.

TOM GRANOFF, Ph.D., has spent almost 30 years providing research methodological and data analysis support in academic settings using SPSS. Tom typically works on numerous scholarly projects each year. Tom assists students who are obtaining advanced degrees in psychology, counseling, education, public health, leadership, business, marketing, sociology, management, and nursing. He also worked for many years in marketing research and data processing positions in the health care industry. A popular instructor, Dr. Granoff teaches graduate-level research methods and statistics courses for Loyola Marymount University, Pepperdine University, and California State University, Long Beach, all in Los Angeles. He prides himself in being able to explain most multivariate statistical tests in simple English without using complex mathematical formulas. Tom educates his clients so that they car take full responsibility for the contents of their study, and assists them in preparing for their oral defense.  His formal education includes a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology plus Master's degrees in Theology and Industrial/Organizational Psychology.
For research proposals (Methods Chapter), Tom provides technical assistance in the following ways: helping set up the research design, reviewing surveys, assistance in selecting appropriate statistical tests, helping determine needed sample sizes (power analyses), helping develop operational definitions; developing hypotheses/research questions; measuring constructs; and tutoring students in the understanding and usage of appropriate research and statistical terminology.  Tom often edits the Methodology Chapter to ensure that the purpose statement, research questions, the hypotheses, the data gathered, and the statistical approaches are in accord.  
For data analysis projects (Results Chapter), Tom’s provides ethical assistance that does not conflict with your university’s plagiarism and academic integrity policies.  Tom will first have a brief free consultation with the student’s thesis/dissertation advisor and gain the appropriate permission before any formal work is conducted.  After securing written permission, Tom can provide any of the following services: create suitable SPSS files, help prepare the dataset for analysis, run relevant statistical tests or teach the student how to do it themselves, provide tutoring in the interpretation of SPSS output, and provide generic examples of how SPSS output could be transformed into APA style tables and narrative.  After the student has the draft of the Results Chapter, Tom can then provide technical editing to ensure the findings are presented in a clear, accurate and compelling manner.    

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Sara H. - statistical geneticistDr. Sarah H.

STATISTICAL GENETICIST
Quantitative Genetics
Genetic Epidemiology
Genotypic and Haplotype Tests
Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium
Genome-Wide Association Studies
Golden Helix
R Statistics – R Programming

Dr. Sara H. specializes in the analysis of genetic, biological, experimental, and clinical data. She is accomplished in the areas of statistical genetics, quantitative genetics, bioinformatics and biostatistics. Dr. Sara H. was trained in mathematics and biology (BA), statistics (MA), and genetics (Ph.D.). She worked as a statistical geneticist for The Rockefeller University in the Laboratory of Statistical Genetics, with Allan Award winner Dr. Jurg Ott. She works with researchers and clinicians from Baylor College of Medicine, Rockefeller University, and Casey Eye Institute.

For medical researchers and clinicians …
She crafts statistical analyses targeted to specific hypotheses and determines which statistics would best be applied to the biological questions. Working with a variety of scientists, she has contributed to the publication of over 35 peer-reviewed publications and research abstracts within the last five years. She has publications within the areas of heart disease, age-related macular degeneration, and drug addiction.

For graduate students in biology, genetics, bioinformatics, and biostatistics …
Sara teaches basic statistics courses as well as statistics courses specific to human genetics, and was formally trained as a statistical geneticist. As a statistical geneticist in a department of primarily molecular biologists, she developed an ability to communicate complex mathematical concepts clearly to both students and fellow scientists. With her combined training in both genetic epidemiology and statistical genetics, she has expertise in analyzing genetic data. Her Ph.D. thesis explored the role of context dependency and interaction in human genetics.

Summary …
She helps select and/or perform the proper statistical analyses for genetic, biological, and clinical data. She helps develop meaningful hypotheses with statistical analyses that reflect the biological questions being asked. She recognizes issues specific to biological and genetic data and understands how they may influence statistical analyses. As a medical communications consultant, she helps communicate research results in publications, presentations, and posters. Her purpose is not just to produce results, but to relate them understandably. She assists in the design of research studies or--if the research design is complete--performs the data analyses. She will work with you throughout the process to ensure that your questions are answered. She will either assist you in doing your own analyses or perform the analyses for you with a written report of the results. She has experience in writing grants, papers and presentations, both as a supporting statistician and as a first author. She also has experience teaching statistics and statistical genetics, and is available to provide consultation and statistical support to trainees on research projects. She can assist you in documenting the statistical methods used in the data analysis, in producing clean and comprehensible graphs and tables, in preparing bibliographic entries relevant to the statistical analysis, and in manuscript content drafting and review.
Sara H. also has expertise in both observational data (cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of patients and population studies of individuals) and experimental data (rats, mice, cell lines). Sara can help with issues such as linkage disequilibrium, inter-relatedness, and context-dependent effects.

Areas of advanced expertise: programming in R, genetic analysis of related individuals (e.g., generalized estimating equations, family-based association tests), genetic analysis of unrelated individuals (e.g., t-tests, analysis of variance, chi-square tests, logistic regression, genotypic and haplotype tests, Genome-wide association studies (GWAS), next generation sequencing analysis, interaction analyses (GXG, GXE, EXE)), and fitting data to the underlying assumptions (e.g., linkage disequilibrium, Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, tests of normality, transformation of data), as well as traditional statistical analyses including, but not limited to, ANOVA, longitudinal analysis, survival analysis, linear regression, meta-analysis, power analysis, permutation testing, and various methods of correction for multiple testing.

All analyses are performed in R or using statistical genetics software such as Golden Helix. This allows her to deal with the large amounts of data being produced in the area of genetics, such as the million marker chips.

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DR. TRACY JACKSON
Human Services - Social Work - Criminal Justice - Sociology

Dr. Tracy Jackson earned her PhD in Human Services (with a specialization in social work and community services) from an online university.  She has a Masters in Social Work and Bachelors in Criminal Justice from Indiana University.  Dr. Jackson has worked in the social work field since 1996. She has helped children and families in her roles as mental health therapist, case manager, school social worker, supervisor, coordinator and qualified mental health professional. She has worked in such settings as mental health facilities, school systems, residential group homes, and juvenile justice and federal half way houses for adult offenders.

Currently, Dr. Jackson is an online instructor for two universities. She teaches in the associate, bachelor and doctorate programs. She is also a dissertation chair and committee member for several online learners. Dr. Jackson takes pride in her work and has a passion for instructing, advising and guiding students.

Her online learners have said:

“Thank you for your support. You were a great online teacher.”

“Thank you so much for your time during this course, I really enjoyed it!”

“I learned a lot and have a new found interest in the policy/political side of Human Services.”

“Thank you for assisting me outside of our regular class meetings. I really appreciate all you have done and continue to do to assist me with achieving my goal.”

Dr. Jackson assists her students in developing their research problems.  She does role playing exercises to help students convey to an audience (i.e., chair and committee) the purpose of their studies, significance and findings. Dr. Jackson helps masters, capstone, and doctoral students develop a plan to conduct a thorough search of the literature. She provides guidance on choosing the most relevant theories for research topics. She is excellent at organizing and revising papers. Dr. Jackson’s own dissertation went through her committee with no rewrites before her final defense.

Dr. Jackson understands that the capstone, thesis, or dissertation writing process is a time of high stress and, therefore, the need for quick turnaround times and fast responses to emails.

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JEFF KARON
English - Rhetoric and Composition - Philosophy

JEFF KARON is a writer, teacher, and consultant who has helped students and professionals for over twenty years. He has edited, revised, and proofread publications that include reports, theses, dissertations, textbooks, proposals, essays, stories, and articles. His Ph.D. is in English (MLA) with a specialization in Rhetoric and Composition, a choice that signals his devotion to clarity and power in language. Prior to his years as an English professor, he studied and taught philosophy, critical thinking, and logic, publishing in these fields as well as in literary studies. He also is a published poet and essayist; he was a finalist in the Sandhill Review/St. Petersburg Times 2010 essay contest.  He has led writing and editing workshops for students, teachers, business people, and artists. Currently, he is leading creativity workshops and developing ways to build honor in the classroom and workplace.

He assists masters and doctoral students with topic selection, content organization, proofreading, format consistency, editing/revising for clarity, editing/revising for development.

As a writer and teacher, he believes that we should strive for excellence by practicing effective and fair techniques at all times. He has combined a life-long interest in the martial arts with writing: if you choose to work with him, he will ensure that your writing is powerful, not merely competent.

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DR. VICKI LAWRENCE

African American Studies - Data Analysis

Dr. Vicki Lawrence is an academic researcher who studies the epidemiologic nature of social conditions in relation to cardiovascular and other disease outcomes. More specifically, her work focuses on studies of poor health among African Americans and health disparities that may occur my age, race, and gender in cardiovascular and mental health outcomes. Utilizing her background in epidemiology and biostatistics, she has provided statistical support on multiple studies with various investigators commonly focused on physical and mental health data. In addition, she has worked with clinicians, research investigators, and tutored multiple graduate students as well in public health, epidemiology, social work, medicine, education, and nursing to tackle statistics related issues.

Dr. Lawrence takes a significant amount of effort to ensure the students and researchers she collaborates with or supports understand the theoretical rationale behind the methods appropriate for their research problems, meeting the students and researchers at their stage of understanding. In addition to explaining the foundations, she regularly provides each individual has the opportunity to ask questions, and explains the differences in statistical approaches as needed. Further, she can help develop data analysis plans, refine research questions, and examine data collection methodologies with clients as well.

In her own work, Dr. Lawrence has used exploratory/ descriptive analysis tools (such as t-tests) and nonparametric tests, ANOVA (including one way, two way, repeated measures and others), structural equation modeling, exploratory factor analyses, multilevel models, linear regression, logistic regression, multinomial regression, and growth curve modeling as well. She has prepared analytical methods sections for publications, including tables of regression outputs. Further, she can provide information relevant to epidemiologic methods, including prevalence, incidence, risk and rate ratios, causal diagrams (including mediating and moderating variables) and other topics as needed. She has used a variety of data sets of both large and small magnitude, including nationally representative public data sets such as NHANES and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, but has also used survey as well as medical systems based data. She has substantial experience using SAS and Excel, and also uses HLM and SPSS.

Compiling and Managing NHANES Datasets

Data Collection Methodologies for Health Research Projects

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RONALD B. MARKS, PhD
Statistics - Data Analysis - Market Research

Ronald B. Marks, PhD was a marketing professor, now retired from the University of Wisconsin. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Missouri - Columbia, with a major in Marketing and minor in statistics. During his thirty year career, he taught undergraduate and graduate market research and multivariate statistics amongst other courses. He made extensive usage of SPSS, Minitab, and LISREL in both teaching and research. His research credentials in the use of multivariate statistics are evidenced in articles, such as: "A Structural Equation Model of Predictors for Effective Online Learning," Journal of Management Education, 29 (4), August, 2005 and "Psychometric Evaluation of the ADAPTS Scale," Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Vol. XVI (4) (Fall, 1996, 53-56)

He attended seminars in "Multivariate Statistics" at the University of Colorado and "General Structural Equation ("Lisrel") Models," (Introduction and Advanced) at the Inter University Consortium for Political and Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He also conducted similar faculty seminars in Multivariate Statistics at the University of Wisconsin.

In counseling dissertation students and business clients, his experience is that "a problem well defined is half solved." Or as Tom Peters suggested in his best-selling book on management, "if you don't know where you are going, you are likely to end up somewhere else." That is, no matter how arcane the statistics employed, they will never compensate for poorly stated hypotheses and literature review. Hence, when consulting with students, he helps them first develop lucid, operational hypotheses and then determines which statistical methods to use, rather than the converse.

Scope: multivariate statistics, behavioral sciences, marketing research, research design, SPSS, Minitab, structural equation modeling (LISREL), survey research, web-based surveys, quantitative methods, correlation, ANOVA, MANOVA, multiple regression, discriminant analysis, factor analysis, methodology chapter editing, nonparametric tests (such as chi-square or Mann-Whitney U Test), statistical application to social science data (e.g. psychology, sociology, economics) and business data (e.g. finance, business, and marketing), can aid with set-up of data files, analysis of sample characteristics, can also help develop persuasive Power Point presentations for oral defenses or business presentations.

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DEBBIE J. NOG-SMITH
Nursing - Health

Advising – Coaching – Mentoring
Research, Writing Consultant, and Editor for Graduate Students in Nursing and Allied Health Fields

Dr. Nog-Smith (RN, PhD, NP) is a nurse practitioner, educator, and researcher. She has been in nursing education since 1996 and has watched the transition from traditional brick and mortar to hybrid and online education. She is board certified in family and adult advanced practice, complementary and alternative health as an aromatherapist/herbalist, and has integrated traditional and complementary methods into her private practice.

Recently, she has transitioned into mentoring and coaching students, faculty, and practitioners to move from finding the “question” to defending the thesis or dissertation, and, writing the article for publication. She assists students in the fields of nursing and health with both qualitative and quantitative research theses and dissertations. She has been commended by her students for motivating them to manage their time, prioritize, move forward, and complete the thesis, dissertation, or capstone writing process. She is a gifted coach and understands the difficult process of balancing work, family, school, and the stressors of the research process.

She offers help with:

  • research and writing
  • editing and content organization
  • research proposals (qualitative and quantitative)
  • methodology chapters
  • literature reviews
  • abstracts
  • topic tutoring (nursing and allied health friends)
  • annotated bibliographies
  • oral defense preparation

Topics:

  • nursing research, education, administration, and advanced practice
  • healthcare administration
  • complementary and alternative health care
  • social justice
  • cultural competency
  • integral studies
  • curriculum and instruction
  • distance and online learning
  • nursing ethics
  • advanced nursing practice curriculum and evaluation
  • nursing retention
  • “nurse bullying”
  • advanced nursing practice topics
  • youth voice and choice, character education
  • feminism/feminist theory
  • health education
  • health care for the underserved
  • geriatric nursing
  • non-profit: boards of directors, grant writing, program design and evaluation.

"Debbie is passionate about her work. She is supportive and enthusiastic and believes in the capabilities of others. Her medical knowledge and critical life experiences in academia and the community make her a great coach and guide."
Dr. Samantha Dietz, Miami, Florida

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ELIZABETH L. PEARMAN
Educational Psychology - Statistics - Measurement

ELIZABETH L. PEARMAN, Ph.D. has spent more than 17 years designing surveys, analyzing data using SAS and SPSS, programming SAS and SPSS, developing assessments for unique situations, research design, developing sampling frames, calculating sample size, program evaluation, qualitative design, and qualitative analysis. Along with being an independent consultant in program evaluation, she teaches graduate classes Master's and Doctoral level research methods, qualitative methods, program evaluation, statistical programming, and lifespan development at the University of Northern Colorado for the Department of Applied Statistics and Research Methods and the Department of Educational Psychology. Elizabeth has completed over 40 program evaluations for clients, made more than 40 presentations at national conferences, published articles in several different fields, and authored three books. She has served on 25 dissertation committees and has consulted with another 40+ doctoral students on design, statistics, statistical programming, conceptualization, and writing in fields diverse as: sports administration, special education, educational leadership, human rehabilitation, educational psychology, applied statistics, school psychology, music education, chemistry education, biology education, instructional technology, psychology, reading, early childhood, and others. Her formal education includes a B.M. from the University of Missouri at Kansas City, an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Northern Colorado in Educational Psychology specializing in research methods, measurement/assessment, program evaluation and statistics.

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NANCY ROSENBAUM
APA Format - Chicago Format

Nancy Rosenbaum has proofread, formatted, edited, and/or reworked undergraduate papers, theses, dissertation proposals, final dissertations, and textbooks on topics ranging from business administration, computer science, diet, education and learning, finance, history, information technology, industrial technology, marketing, medicine and health care, religion, philosophy, politics and social science, and psychology, to name a few. Nancy is proud to have supported the needs of students and professionals from institutions that include Argosy University, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece), Capella University, Clemson University, Columbia University Teachers College, Cornell University, Duke University, Helsinki University of Technology (Finland), Johns Hopkins University (Sinai Hospital), London School of Economics (England), National Chiagi University (Taiwan), National University, North Central University, Ohio Northern University, Purdue University, St. Thomas University of Law, Stanford University, University of British Columbia (Canada), University of California-Berkeley, University of Pittsburgh, Walden University, and Weill Cornell Medical College.

Scope:

Writing and Editing: Technical, Medical, Business, Finance. APA format. Chicago Manual of Style.

"Nancy went above and beyond heavy editing, putting my 70 page, 15,000 word Capstone in APA compliance.  Her ability to understand the material and translate into higher level English is very impressive.  The feedback from my professor was ‘exceptional work’ and he turned it back to me with no corrections.  Her work was PERFECT.  I can’t thank her and the editing network enough.  Well done!" - Brian Bowman, Embry-RiddleAeronautical, Deputy Group Commander, USAF

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CHRISTINE D. TOMEI
Humanities - Social Science - Cultural Studies

Scope: humanities, literature, modernism, cultural theory, linguistics, social sciences, history and culture of Russia, Serbia, Croatia.

CHRISTINE D. TOMEI has a Ph.D. from Brown University and is presently an Associate in the Slavic Seminar at Columbia University. She is a former full-time professor and recipient of multiple awards, including Fulbright and IREX. She has a published monograph in linguistics and literary theory and has contributed to intelligence in computational linguistics and linguistic theory. She is also editor of two other books, including the highly acclaimed, two-volume edition of Russian Women Writers (Garland: New York, 1999) which won a national book prize. She has published research in literature, cultural theory, folklore, modernism and women's studies. She taught international relations and comparative culture; also comparative literature, all levels of Russian language, beginning and intermediate Serbo-Croatian and translates from both languages. She also translates Italian and can read German, French and Dutch.

She has indexed scholarly publications including annotated indexes, has worked extensively in abstract writing, and has generated book-length camera-ready copy. Recently, she moved jobs to public administration and has finished coursework toward a Masters in Public Administration with a major in systems management. She has helped design and implement curriculum including research design.

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BARBARA von DIETHER
Education - Business - Interdisciplinary Studies

BARBARA von DIETHER, M.Ed., Ed.D. Dissertation, thesis, and term paper preparation; writing coach; academic, business, and technical writing consultant.

Scope
Generalist -- numerous subjects/categories, including:
Education administration, education technology, secondary education, curriculum development, needs assessment, distance education, education leadership, instructional design, instructional media, advertising, business administration, business management, leadership training and development, communications, NEPA-compliant environmental assessments and impact statements.

Academic Advising
Graduate on time
Dr. von Diether guides students through difficult advisor relationships and hazy research proposals.

Academic Writing
Maximize the time and money invested towards obtaining a higher degree
Dr. von Diether helps students write theses and dissertations that connect with advisor, committee, and graduate school demands. Dr. von Diether helps organize research and content and prepares students for the final defense.     

Sample Capstone Syllabus

"I did it! I passed! It was an unconditional pass from all faculty members!  The head of my department said it was one of the top 3 defenses he has ever seen and probably one of the most professional presentations ever... and he has been doing this for over 20 years!!!  Talk about feeling good!!!! I am so very happy!!!" E. R, Ph. D., BCBA (contact information on request)

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MADGE WALLACE
Professional Freelance Indexer

Madge Wallace creates indexes found at the back of nonfiction books. When an index is done according to generally accepted indexing standards, it performs flawlessly. The reader finds what he is looking for and doesnt give the index a second thought. On the other hand, if the index is poorly done, the reader becomes frustrated and will likely move on to the next book. Worse yet, a nonfiction book published without an index may not be taken seriously by the publishing industry. In short, a good index enhances the value of a book to readers, reviewers, librarians, instructors, and researchers. It is a mark of a serious book.

Indexing is a skill Madge acquired after many years of writing freelance for newspapers and magazines, as well as authoring four published books. Her award-winning novel, Paying the Price, the story of a real estate deal in Hawaii that goes terribly bad, was published in 2005. Her Hawaii Real Estate Exam Book has been used by students all over the world to pass the Hawaii real estate licensing exam.

As an indexer Madge puts herself in the mind of the potential reader and anticipates his needs. Indexing involves such things as

  • gathering together scattered information on the same subject
  • breaking down large ranges of information into manageable subtopics
  • cross referencing related topics
  • double posting topics that might be accessed in several different ways
  • distinguishing between passing references and substantive discussions

Madge has a degree in mathematics, and is a graduate of the U.S.D.A. Graduate School's Basic Indexing Course, a tried and true standard for indexers. She is a member of the American Society of Indexers. She indexes books on topics ranging from history to politics, cookbooks to real estate, social studies to biography, and health and wellness to Hawaiiana. All subjects will be considered.

Madge welcomes your questions on indexing. To learn more about the importance of indexing, see her article, "Good Indexes Sell Books." And if you are considering doing your index yourself, please see "Author as Indexer: the Good, the Bad and the Possible."

"This book was a challenging indexing project. Madge Wallace...did an excellent job sorting through this complicated task and the result is a book of which everyone involved is very proud."

"We greatly appreciate your diligence and care in creating the index for Patients Beyond Borders Second Edition—a quantum improvement. I was particularly pleased with the way you distilled a large amount of technical information—potentially confusing to the reader of a consumer guide—into an accessible, friendly format. Try as we might, we could not find an error in your work!"

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