Matchmaking for Projects in Ecology & Data Science/Stats


Use this tool to assemble interdisciplinary teams of ecologists, statisticians, and data-scientists to develop innovative ways to analyze and visualize your data.  Your projects will be reviewed by potential collaborators in the Statistical Sciences Department and Data-Science programs as well as Ecology.  You can also view projects posted by others, and make contact if you want to be involved!  Here’s how:

Write short description of your project:  Describe the ecological context of the study, and indicate the statistical and data-science challenge that this data set presents.  Follow this link for some tips for writing your project description: https://muser.duke.edu/blog/mentors-writing-project-description

Post your project on the MUSER website:  Faculty can post directly.  Graduate students and postdocs can post projects through their faculty advisor’s account.  Here is the link to the website: (https://muser.duke.edu/).  Log in, and go to “Mentor Tasks” and then “My Projects.”  You can post a new project if it is within the permitted dates to post.

The general dates for posting projects in MUSER are:

  • Start of fall semester for fall projects
  • End of fall semester for spring projects
  • Beginning of spring semester for summer projects
  • End of spring semester for some fall projects.

Choose the categories that fit your project:  To target this interdisciplinary initiative, be sure to list “Data Science Biology” as one of your tags.  By choosing this tag, your project will be visible to users in Statistical Sciences and Data-Science programs who are seeking collaboration with domain scientists.  You can also choose other categories from the drop-down list that suits your projects. 

Review your contacts:  People contact you through the MUSER interface.  Review these “applicants” to find your potential collaborators.  Go to “Mentor Tasks”, and then “Applications.”  You will see a description of their interests and their contact information.  Be sure to review these contacts and respond to them before the “decisions deadline, or their information may be purged before you access it. 

Assemble your team:  Use those contacts to compose an interdisciplinary team to engage your data set and enhance your project.  The rest is up to you!

Browse the projects of other potential collaborators:  See whether you may want to join someone else’s project!  Go to “Projects” and click “Project Category.”  Choose “Data Science Biology” (or any other field).  To make contact, “apply” to that project. 

Permanent link to this article: https://ecology.duke.edu/matchmaking-for-projects-in-ecology-and-data-science-stats/