INiBICA has a methodological and statistical support service that is currently outsourced, but which makes available to its researchers an interdisciplinary team of biostatisticians, biologists, mathematicians and physicists, with extensive knowledge and experience in advanced statistical advice at any stage of a study. and biomedical research:

• Optimal experimental design (sample size estimation, etc.).
• Review and debugging of databases.
• Treatment and analysis of data using the most appropriate statistical methodology to provide a solution to each objective set.
• Preparation of scientific-technical reports.
• Support in the interpretation of the results obtained.

In the same way, this methodological advice service supports INIBICA researchers in providing more competitiveness to their reports on R&D projects and presenting them in regional and national calls. Especially in the review of the sections on methodology, design and statistical analysis, as well as suggestions for form and structure in other sections (summary, team, background, bibliography, hypothesis, objectives and material and methods).

Additionally, protocols and research articles are reviewed, particularly in the part of methodology and statistical analysis; and responds to journal editors and reviewers in everything related to the statistical part of the work carried out by their team.

Research studies or statistical inquiries.

In case of interest on the part of the researchers to request the methodological advice service, it is necessary to carry out the following steps:

1. Inform your manager in advance of the need for the service: lourdes.rodriguez@inibica.es / diana.regueiro@juntadeandalucia.es.
2. Cover the form.
• This form consists of the following parts:
• Contact details of the responsible investigator.
• The purpose of the study.
• Hypotheses that arise and to which they want to answer.
• Study variables involved in the problem to be solved.
• Details of what is requested.
3. Sending of the form and documentation that is considered appropriate (database, protocol, reference articles, etc.) to the INIBICA management staff, who will transfer the request to the person in charge of managing the methodological advisory service.
4. The methodological advice service will establish contact with the researcher in charge, to start the work or agree on an approximate period for said start and end.
5. Throughout the development of the study, communication may be established between the researcher and the methodological advisory service team, in order to resolve doubts and determine the work to be carried out. In all communication, INIBICA's management staff must always have a copy, to facilitate the monitoring and control of the work.

The standard deadlines for research papers are set for responses (report delivery) at 3-4 weeks from the request. These deadlines vary depending on INIBICA's priorities, the number of previous requests and active projects, and the level of complexity and length of the work requested.

1. Review of reports of imminent calls, especially projects of the Ministry of Health of the Andalusian Government and projects of the ISCIII.
2. Response to editors and/or reviewers of scientific publications of works carried out by the methodological advisory service.
3. Works that derive in scientific publications and/or doctoral theses.
4. Studies to present in communications to congresses.

Other types of requests must be assessed and prioritized based on the number of requests and projects in progress.

For each call, INiBICA will inform researchers of the deadlines for telematic presentation of their projects. Likewise, it will indicate the deadlines for requesting the methodological and statistical review service.

To do this, the researcher(s) must send the report in the proper format for each call. As complete as possible. The contribution of said report in terms further away from the deadline, will allow carrying out a more exhaustive review of said report, and a more detailed assessment of the project to be presented. In the same way, it will allow receiving support to solve specific statistical needs, which suppose limitations to be resolved.

The order of priority for the review of reports will be that of the date of receipt of the application and documentation.

All the information and data provided to the methodological advisory service are subject to total confidentiality for an indefinite period of time, as defined in the current contract between INIBICA and the methodological advisory service.

Data protection regulations will be strictly followed. For this reason, any document or database that contains sensitive data (name of patients, etc.), will be eliminated and deleted immediately (email, attachments and copies). The researcher must send all the documentation and database again after eliminating said confidential information.