Terms and Conditions of Service (alphabetical)

Acknowledgement

  • The Statistical Consulting Service reserves the right to request co-authorship(s) of publications where the consulting has a demonstrable impact beyond routine analysis on a publication in accordance with the Authorship Practices Policy of UCT (see http://www.uct.ac.za/sites/default/files/image_tool/images/328/about/policies/Policy_Authorship_Practices.pdf or ask the SCS for a copy).
  • Requests for co-authorship will nominate only the consultant(s) who has (/have) made a direct and substantial contribution. However the Department acknowledges the right of the principal author(s) to exercise their own judgement on such requests.
  • Should an expert become involved due to referral, the expert may request co-authorship of publications.
  • Clients should disclose to the consultant, or referred expert, any publications to arise from the work.
  • Shared publications is subject to mutual agreement.
  • In the case of shared publication, the consultancy/statistician has joint responsibility for the publication as a whole.
  • Co-authorship is independent of fund transfers / financial compensation for services rendered.
  • All consultation should be acknowledged in the theses or publications arising from the work as follows:

The author(s) acknowledge(s) the contributions of the Statistical Consulting Service (SCS), Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Cape Town.

  • The individual consultants involved should also be acknowledged by name if they agree to this.
  • Clients are requested to provide us with a copy of the statement of acknowledgement to sta-consulting@uct.ac.za.
  • Clients are requested to send articles that recognise the SCS to sta-consulting@uct.ac.za.

Communication

  • Consultants will communicate with clients via email unless otherwise arranged by the client.

Consultations

  • Consultations are conducted by appointment ONLY.
  • Consultations are NOT conducted via email or telephone unless otherwise arranged with the consultant.
  • Consultations are ONLY scheduled during working hours (08:30 - 16:00) on Tuesdays (returning clients) and Thursdays (new clients).
  • Consultations are scheduled on a first-come-first-served basis.

Clientele

UCT-based clients

  • Honours students – the SCS does NOT currently provide assistance to Honours students.
  • Course work masters and doctoral students – assistance ONLY with regard to the dissertation or thesis NOT course work assignments.
  • Research masters and doctoral students, and postdoctoral researchers
  • Research/academic staff
  • Visiting researchers/international exchange students – UCT rates apply if funding comes from a UCT source; External academic rates apply if funding is from an external source.

Clients External to UCT

  • External academic clients.
  • Corporate, NGO clients and Individuals in a private capacity.

The service is provided subject to the availability of consultants. The Statistical Consulting Service reserves the right to terminate or refuse service.

The SCS operates on a partial cost-recovery basis and hence all billable work are charged for at an hourly rate. UCT staff and students have the option to pay via grant or research funds via internal fund transfer. Alternatively, invoices are to be settled privately.

Confidentiality

  • Confidentiality of data sets will be preserved at all times.
  • The SCS does not provide a data repository service, and aims to preserve data only until termination of SCS involvement.

Data Collection and Capturing

  • The client is responsible for the collection of data.
  • The consultancy does not: collect data on behalf of the client, accept responsibility for the validity of the data collected, and accept responsibility for the integrity of data collected.
  • The client is responsible for the data capturing (transfer of data into database).
  • Data is to be submitted in a format meeting the pre-arranged specifications provided by the consultant, and is typically submitted in Microsoft Excel, text format or an equivalent form (for example, as an SPSS dataset, Stata dataset, Microsoft Access database). Templates are available on request. Codebooks should be provided with datasets.
  • See Database Guidelines http://www.stats.uct.ac.za/stats/consulting/database_guidelines

Initial Meeting

  • To register the project with the SCS for consideration, clients must complete and submit an application form and signed copy of the Terms and Conditions of Service. Incomplete applications will delay project review.
  • 1 initial meeting of up to 1 hour is offered free-of-charge when the SCS deems that substantial further work arises from the discussions of the meeting; should 1 meeting suffice and the client receives useful advice, the client will be charged for the meeting.

Invoicing

  • Invoices are issued every two months.
  • Invoices are not cumulative; outstanding accounts must please be settled upon receipt of the invoice.
  • The SCS reserves the right to discontinue work should accounts not be timeously settled, i.e., within 30 days of invoice.

Quality Assurance

  • The consultancy reserves the right to: communicate any suspected breach of ethical conduct or suspected breach of the integrity of data to the supervisor(s), departmental chairperson and/or the relevant Dean of faculty; refuse to analyse a dataset that does not yet meet the pre-arranged data capture specifications and template.

Role of the Postgraduate Supervisor

  • Supervisors carry joint responsibility with students to abide by these Terms and Conditions
  • Students are required to obtain approval from their supervisor(s) before requesting service from the SCS.
  • It is recommended that supervisor(s) attend at least the first consultation, and the consultant may insist on such involvement by the supervisors.
  • The consultancy does not act as a supervisor or co-supervisor, or liaise with the supervisor(s) on behalf of any student, unless by formal arrangement at the initiation of the project.
  • Ethical considerations pertaining to any study remain the responsibility of the student and supervisor(s); the consultancy does not accept responsibility for the ethical issues pertaining to a study.
  • The SCS may include students’ supervisors on any communications about the work.

SCS Annual Closure

  • New projects submitted during the months of December and January will only be reviewed, and work will commence, in the February to follow at the earliest.

Time and Cost

  • Different projects will require different periods of consulting time and clients should rather over estimate than under estimate in this regard.
  • Time required for a project includes the necessary time for familiarisation with data and research problems, email communication, reading background literature for the particular research field and problem, possible data analyses and interpretation of results.
  • Time frames for feedback will be negotiated throughout; however, clients should allow at least 3 weeks for work to be done at any one time.
  • For large or unusual datasets, extra time may be needed to research a solution, manipulate the data and compute the results.
  • It is the responsibility of the client to provide ample time for statistical consulting and to inform the consultant of any deadlines. As a guideline, requests must be submitted at least 8 weeks prior to the project deadline. Urgent requests will not be accepted.
  • Should unforeseen intermediate deadlines arise on the part of the client, both client and consultant(s) must agree on a new timeline.  It is at all times up to the discretion of the consultant(s) to determine the feasibility of the deadlines.  Consultants will not be held responsible for the completion of work for new deadlines deemed unfeasible.
  • When analysing data, the SCS tries to provide complete, accurate results within a reasonable period of time. Often, though, results can be delayed by unanticipated problems with the data, availability of computer resources, and seasonally heavy workloads.
  • Clients must clearly communicate any applicable university submission deadlines with the consultants and are required to ensure that requests are submitted to the SCS with these deadlines in mind.

Reporting of Research Findings

  • The consultancy does not write reports of research findings /results on behalf of the client
  • ONE (1) review of write up of results is allowed per project

Tariffs

The rates charged by the SCS vary according to the client type (internal vs. external) and Faculty. The Faculty of Science funds a position in the consulting unit and qualifies for reduced rates. The rates specified below are estimated rates and they may be subject to a formal costing procedure. In addition, the estimated rates are applicable for clients serviced directly by members of the SCS only; specialist rates may apply for members of the Statistical Sciences Department not involved with the SCS.

Annual Revision of Rates

  • The SCS may adjust rates at the beginning of a calendar year. Clients whose projects span over multiple years will be informed of such changes. The rates corresponding to the year in which services are rendered will be applied.

Consultation Rates for 2022 (meetings and all other time required on the project)

  • UCT-based:
    • Science Faculty R200.00 + VAT per hour
    • All other faculties R400.00 + VAT per hour
  • Note: VAT is not charged on internal fund transfers for UCT-based researchers. It is up to the client to indicate the method of payment preferred, prior to the issuing of any invoice.
  • External Academic: R700.00 + VAT per hour
  • Corporate, NGO or equivalent: R1500.00 + VAT per hour

Responsibility for Payments

  • The client and, when applicable, supervisor(s), as specified on the application form, are directly responsible for settling accounts, regardless of who the fund holder is.

Training and Short Courses

On request