Direct Effects advises on how to take advantage of your data resources. We work as your partner to bring forth an implementation. Success is measured in goals achieved, not the thickness of presentation decks. Do you want to improve current processes or explore new approaches? We can evaluate the situation, plan and then implement an approach. These techniques can enhance the existing methods and offer new opportunities for future actions.

Design

Call us before you have any data. Why? Because the best analysis comes from planned data collection, whether a sampling design or an experiment.  Sampling can mean selecting people, records from a database, or boxes filled with shrinked-wrapped smaller boxes.  An experiment isn’t limited to the lab (But if you are in a lab, we have a lot to offer in helping you get meaningful results).   A marketing test that sends two different offers  is a ‘one factor, two level’ experiment.  We can expand your decision tools beyond simple approaches.

Explore

While some people like looking at screens of data, most would rather not.  So we make tables and graphs to summarize and glean insights.   We calculate common measures to find the center, like the arithmetic average, i.e., the mean and of spread, like the inscrutable standard deviation.  Then there are more intriguing statistics like the trimmed mean or the inter-quartile range.  Graphs at this point are to gain insight and explain, not to decorate.  Exploratory data analysis tells you what’s there before doing anything complicated.

Analyze

Statisticians consider estimation, testing and modeling the major aspects of analysis.  Whatever their school of thought, the goal is to address uncertainty.    In some regulated environments, you must follow the design.  The most important goal is getting a valid estimate with desired precision.   Hypothesis testing plays a big role.   But with observed or ad-hoc data, the exploration can drive the process in estimation and modeling.    This is where statisticians have fun.  Recoding, transforming and transposing.   But we will never lose site of your goal of explaining influences and predicting future behaviors. 

 Move Forward

Yes we enjoy looking at your numbers.  But the most important thing is what action we take next.   So if you reformulate, we will help you track the impact.   Or maybe the analysis will bring up more questions.  We will refine our approaches and help you move forward.