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.
[1] Trained in both methods and statistics, and communication skills, advisors may work in academia, industry, or the public sector.
Some universities offer specific graduate programmes in fields such as biostatistics, psychological methods, or methodology and statistics for the medical, behavioural, and social sciences.
Within the legal system, consultants may be called upon as expert witnesses, in particular in cases that involve statistical considerations.
[1] Questions may concern the design of studies, choice or construction of measurement instruments, analysis of data, and presentation of results.
Because in some cases the implications of methodological advice may be profound (e.g., it may not be possible to conduct certain experiments, or to gain certain insights from data already collected), consultants also have to be able to communicate such ramifications.