The 3 Cs for Collaborative Statistics: Tiers of Effective Communication

Abstract

The ability of statisticians to communicate effectively is a skill much needed for multidisciplinary collaborations. The combination of critical thinking and interpersonal skills that combines understanding interdisciplinary content and applying statistical knowledge is challenging to teach. We propose the “3 Cs” framework for teaching how to approach, implement, and present research questions. The 3 Cs approach encourages learners to group their statistical presentations into three tiers: comprehensive, collaborator, and circulation. The comprehensive tier is for the statistical team; it includes all aspects of addressing the question including exploratory statistics, quality control, and assumption checks, understanding variables in connection to the content area, etc. The collaborator tier includes the elements that are important for conversation with collaborators. The circulation tier streamlines the narrative for dissemination. The 3 Cs enforce critical thinking, communication skills, and translation of statistical conclusions to content area conclusions during every step of the collaboration process.