Piedmont Research Strategies Areas of Expertise

Why use PRS for your Analytic & Methodological Needs?

PRS provides a tailored experience for all researchers, no matter the size of your project. We pride ourselves in fostering a relationship that is intimately familiar with your data and research needs. Our expertise allows us to anticipate your methodological or analytic concerns, so that we can field any questions you may have about your data or project.

Research

Established in 2009, PRS is a private, for-profit research consulting firm based in North Carolina. We have supported researchers with innovative research ideas for almost 15 years, providing guidance in research design, expertise in methodology and data analytics, and formal reporting of health outcomes in experimental, descriptive, and correlational studies. We work with a large array of researchers, providing support in methodology, analyses, and with grant writing.

Since our clients come to us from diverse settings like academia, industry, and pharmaceuticals, PRS offers a number of services depending on where the researcher is in their conceptualization of their work.

We can aid in the research design and development of an upcoming project. PRS has experience in helping organize study protocols, working with clients to troubleshoot data collection techniques, and collaborating with researchers and their funding agencies to improve studies.

Data Services

Data are complicated and can be stressful!. We are prepared to facilitate any and all data-related services you may need. Many services are required before any physical data exist (“Pre-Data Services”), and of course once physical data are on hand (“Post-Data Services”).

Pre-Data Services:

Conceptualization: We will work with you to make sense of the data you expect to see, what kinds of information you will have access to, and what questions you have about exploring your data.

Liaison: We are happy to serve as your personal data navigator, or “liaison,” to field any concerns or questions someone (e.g. you, project funders, etc.) may have about your data.

Design: Whether it be a fortified research study, in-house quality assessment, or miscellaneous project of interest, a quintessential stage ahead of examining actual data is design. We will help you in processes of methodology, analysis, and application of the data you plan to (or have already) collected.

Specific Pre-Data Services:

Data Conceptualization, Project Conceptualization, Data Liaison, Study Design, Quality Improvement Design, Study Protocol Development, Data Collection Coordinator, Community Health Needs Assessment, Mixed Methods, Quantitative Research Methods, Qualitative Research Methods, Statistical Analysis Plan

Post-Data Services:

Organization: Data may be collected through a variety of avenues- whether it be field notes, online surveys, or electronic health records. Sometimes, a single project may contain several data sources. PRS cleans, structures, and organizes data from all sources for the convenience of our clients.

Visualization: We cater to your data and project needs to visualize findings and general conclusions for what is most helpful and applicable for you. We have expertise in a variety of data programming systems that can visualize your work in a number of ways.

Dissemination: PRS prioritizes the concept of translational research and stresses the importance of understanding the results of your hard work. We have responsibility to provide products to our clients through detailed means of dissemination (e.g. physical report, PowerPoint presentation, White paper, data brief, etc.). We will invest the time to make sure you have all the tools and knowledge you need to disseminate your work with others.

Specific Post-Data Services:

Data Organization/Cleaning, Data Gathering, Data Mining, Data Visualization, Statistical Analysis, Evaluation, Reports, Presentation, Technical Writing (manuscript)

Statistical Services

PRS has a team of 4 doctorally-prepared, public health scientists who have expertise in a number of statistical programs and analyses.

Statistical Programs

R (Scripting, R Markdown)
SPSS
MPlus
SAS

Variable-Centered Analyses

Survival Analyses
Factor Analyses
Mediation Analyses
Repeated Measures ANOVA
Regression Analyses
Multivariate Analyses
Hierarchical Linear Modeling

Person-Centered Analyses

Latent Profile / Cluster Analyses
Latent Growth Curve Modeling

Protocol Development and Review

High quality research can be expensive, and our clients often are in need of assistance in writing grant applications. While our clients are the content experts in their field, we find that they often benefit from our technical assistance. Across our team, we have experience in grant writing at the Federal and State levels as well as for-profit SBIR and STTR grants.

Our Founder & CEO is Dr. William Dudley has obtained nearly $30 million in grant funding, and has over 150 publications. Over the past 30 years, he has served on three dozen externally-funded research studies (mostly funded by NIH) as either the statistician or CO-PI. He also served as an NIH study section reviewer (Psychosocial Risk & Disease Prevention (PRDP)) for six years.

Due to our success in writing and reviewing grant applications, PRS specializes in helping researchers apply for Federal, State, or privately-funded grants. We help researchers:

Harmonize research questions / hypotheses with statistical analyses plans
Sample size / power estimations
Develop evidence-based instrumentation
Create logic models
Prepare protocols and documents for IRB review
Provide expertise in deidentification of datasets

What will these services cost?

Services from PRS are grounded in a value-based system. Each new client will receive a free, 30-minute consultation with our team about your research. In this meeting, we will discuss the client’s current project (or projects in development) and address if the client needs the following:

- Help developing and refining research questions and “harmonize” these with the data analysis plan
- Help in the conceptualization of the research idea, during which we work with the client to troubleshoot the best plan of action
- Aid in the writing or editing of the IRB protocol
- A plan for the implementation of data collection and reviewing how data was/will be collected
- A plan for data cleaning or management that will be required
- Developing a statistical analysis plan
- Delineating deliverables and timeline for deliverables
- Any other pertinent information that would impact the research at hand

Following this meeting, PRS will meet internally to develop a Statement of Work (SOW) which we will provide to the client for review, modification, and approval. This SOW will be used to create a flat-fee budget (with a maximum amount charged for the proposed project) it will take to complete all proposed tasks.

Does this service interest you?
We would love to hear how we can help you further your research

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Contact Piedmont Research

We are happy to provide service to any researchers within academe, the private sector, or community-based organizations.

We focus on customizing what the client needs. We can also help clients with how to start a research study. Piedmont Research Strategies is able to help at all stages of the process.

contactus@piedmontresearch.org