A UTSA researcher runs software to help navigate the statistics

“I studied humanities as an undergrad, but in graduate school I struggled with teaching statistics,” LeBlanc said. “The most difficult thing for me was connecting the statistical procedures needed for the particular research questions and hypotheses developed within my discipline. When I began teaching research methods to undergraduates at UTSA in 2001, I was motivated to show students how to more directly connect theory and methodology to their specific application. My first attempt was a two-page, two-dimensional decision tree that I handed out in class.”

In the fall of 2014, LeBlanc began developing Stat Tree as an interactive online tool.

The following spring, he presented the tool at the Innovations in Online Learning conference.

The project received a $50,000 NSF grant in spring 2019 for the NSF Innovation Corps, or I-Corps™, program. The software was made publicly available in August 2023.

Continuing to develop the tool, LeBlanc presented the concept at the Southwest Region I-Corps conference and then at the National I-Corps conference.

“We asked our peers: What is your biggest problem when choosing a statistical test for your research question?” LeBlanc said.

A UTSA researcher and his team found that some statisticians and data analysts spent up to six months training new employees. The interviewees also stated that another major problem was learning new languages ​​in order to conduct various types of analyses. Organizations and educators have typically consistently chosen one language, which means that researchers must adapt to a new language when they start a new job or new class. LeBlanc believes his tool can dramatically speed up this adjustment period by enabling researchers to quickly translate research questions into the language of their choice.

“This platform can benefit many learners and researchers who need simple guidance and statistical tools for analysis,” he said Seok KangProfessor and Director of Digital Initiatives at the UTSA College of Liberal and Fine Arts. “Our students need exposure to coding-based statistical analysis because these tools are open source and offer a variety of visualization options.”