A methodological advisor or statistical consultant provides methodological and statistical advice and guidance to clients interested in making decisions regarding the design of studies, the collection and analysis of data, and the presentation and dissemination of research findings. Trained in both methods and statistics, and communication skills, advisors may work in academia, industry, or the public sector. Education and employment Methodological advisors generally have post-graduate training in statistics and relevant practical experience. Advisors may also have significant education and experience in the particular field they work in. Some universities offer specific graduate programmes in fields such as biostatistics, psychological methods, or methodology and statistics for the medical, behavioural, and social sciences. Methodological consultants primarily find work in academia and industry. In the private sector, consultants may be part of an organisation, employed by a consultancy firm, or self-employed. Many universities offer in-house methodological advice for researchers, as well as, in some cases, services for outside clients. The advisors may also be researchers of their own right and be involved with particular projects. Project statisticians, in particular, are embedded with research groups and often developed a deep understanding not just of statistics, but also of the research topics themselves. In contrast, independent advisors are often only consulted on specific questions, and may be less involved with the project as a whole. Disciplines in which methodological advice is sought stretch the entire width of the quantitative sciences, but may in particular include the medical sciences, biology, psychological research, and business studies. Advisors are also consulted in public administration, where they may be involved at all levels of governance. Within the legal system, consultants may be called upon as expert witnesses, in particular in cases that involve statistical considerations. Range of tasks The role of a methodological advisors varies from project to project, but can include any point in the research cycle. While cross-sectional consulting may only occur at one point during a project, longitudinal consulting may mean that the advisor stays with the project from beginning to end. Hence, advice is not limited to statistical questions. Questions may concern the design of studies, choice or construction of measurement instruments, analysis of data, and presentation of results. Common questions include: design of experiments and research studies plotting data measurement instruments (choosing, constructing and analysing) determination of adequate sample size to detect a hypothesised effect determination of an adequate sampling procedure for a study,