About Statistics by Greg Black
I have thirty years of experience in designing and implementing complex research designs and performing complex statistical analyses. I am an expert at research design and methodology, program evaluation, Data Warehouse design, and data mining. I am experienced with a wide variety of statistical techniques, including regression (OLS, logistical, curvilinear, non-linear, and time series), ANOVA, cluster analysis, factor analysis, etc.
I am an expert in the design, implementation, and maintenance of microcomputer and mainframe data warehouses for baseline/business reporting, statistical reporting, data mining, forecasting, and outcomes analysis.
I have designed and implemented research projects of all types, including survey research.
I've also worked with SPSS on both IBM mainframes and Unisys mainframes. (If you happen to be running SPSS on a Unysis mainframe, call me about making your system menu driven and virtually "punch of a button".)
I have programmed in a wide variety of languages in addition to SPSS, including Visual Basic (wrote my own Excel macro language using Visual Basic), C++, COBOL, Dbase/CLIPPER/Visual FOX PRO, and a wide variety of proprietary languages/utilities.
Some highlights of my career include:
Cancer Research with M.D. Anderson Hospital
I designed and implemented an SPSS system for analyzing Cancer data with M. D. Anderson Hospital, Galveston.
Texas Emergency Medical Services Evaluations
I designed and implemented The Comprehensive Methodology for the Evaluation of Emergency Medical Systems (EMS) for the state of Texas. Some of the implementing research resulted in defibrillators being carried in all Texas ambulances instead of only the 10% Advanced Life Support Ambulances (ALS). Texas was either the first or second state in the union to do this. This research saved the lives of thousands of Texans.
Texas JOBS Data Warehouse
I designed and implemented a Data Warehouse that supported all statistical reporting for the state of Texas JOBS program (an employment program for AFDC recipients). The warehouse was run literally from a single menu that loaded all of the 60 plus routine program's menus and set them up to automatically run in sequence, making the system virtually "punch of a button" automated.
Community College Data Warehouse
I designed and implemented a data warehouse that supported all the statistical reporting for one of the top ten largest community colleges in the nation.
Whole Foods Market Accounting Re-design
I redesigned and rewrote the financial reporting software for Whole Foods Market. This resulted in a well structured, well documented system that supported all financial reporting.
I have also performed outreach and marketing analyses for both public and private institutions, utilizing both survey data and legacy system data.
Teaching
I have 20 years of SPSS teaching experience. This includes presenting SPSS Courses at numerous large institutions and small businesses.
Software and Hardware
I am adept at adapting to whatever operating systems, software, and data is necessary to get the job done. Over the years, I have taught myself numerous programming skills that were necessary for accomplishing the task at hand. In the old days (prior to SPSS data management capabilities), I had to put the files together with COBOL. Therefore, I taught myself COBOL. When micros came around, I taught myself Fox pro, Dbase and Clipper to create the files I needed to run into SPSS. Even when SPSS data management capabilities were live (mainframe version X, around late 80's), I continued to use the Xbase languages for their superior reporting formats by porting mainframe produced aggregate files down to the micro. At that point, however, I began building my data warehouses and related files almost exclusively with SPSS. I have been doing so ever since. I can take data in any format, put it together, and build a working system that allows for quick and easy reporting.
The fact that I know a number of programming languages that are vastly different allows me to think in ways a master of one language could not. I find myself applying principles from SPSS (flat file processor), Fox pro (relational data base), and COBOL (structured free format file processor) to each other in ways that makes all of my programming better.
Well Structured Code
My code is so well structured and documented that other programmers can learn new tricks just by reading it. In fact, I analyzed my latest data warehouse (combining around 12 file reading programs with 5 cleaning and combining programs), and I found that literally 25% of my non-blank lines were documentation. This may sound like I went overboard, but it was necessary to document the variety of data corruption and combination issues that I had to address. And I'm sure that the person who inherits this will bless me often for having done so.
I have designed and implemented systems that dealt with all aspects of modern day enterprises, including the fiscal, accounting, marketing, longitudinal follow up, forecasting, survey, and customer/client analyses.
I believe in looking for the one best way to do everything. After 30 years of looking for the best way to perform statistical analysis and reporting, I have lots of best ways to teach. In fact, I have one trick that I introduce in all of my courses that will increase your productivity in the programming phase fivefold, no matter what language you are programming in. And that is only one of the many tricks that I have learned or developed over the years.
I have a Bachelors degree in Political Science and a Master's degree in Public Administration. My Masters Degree courses include 15 hours of statistics, research design, and program evaluation.
