UTSA researcher launches software to help navigate statistics

"Coming from the humanities as an undergraduate, I struggled with learning statistics as a graduate student," said LeBlanc. "Most difficult for me was connecting the statistical procedures needed for the particular research questions and hypotheses developed within my discipline. When I started teaching undergraduate research methods at UTSA in 2001, I was motivated to show students how to more directly connect theory and methodology to their particular application. My first attempt was a two-page, two-dimensional decision tree which I handed out in class."

In Fall 2014, LeBlanc began developing Stat Tree as an online interactive 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 of 2023.

While continually developing the tool, LeBlanc went on to present the concept at the Southwest Regional I-Corps conference and subsequently at the National I-Corps conference.

"We asked our peers: What is your biggest pain in choosing a statistical test for your research question?" said LeBlanc.

The UTSA researcher and his team found that some statisticians and data analysts spent up to six months training new staff. Interviewees also said that learning new languages to conduct different types of analysis was another major pain point. Organizations and educators tended to choose one language consistently, meaning that researchers must adjust to a new language when they begin a new job or a new class. LeBlanc believes his tool can dramatically expedite that adjustment period, allowing researchers to quickly translate their research questions into their chosen language.

"This platform can benefit many learners and researchers who need straightforward guidance with statistical tools for analysis," said Seok Kang, professor and director of digital initiatives for the UTSA College of Liberal and Fine Arts. "Our students need exposure to coding-based statistical analysis as the tools are open-source and offer various visualization options."