A research consultant is a PhD-credentialed advisor who scopes your study, designs your methodology, picks your statistical approach, and walks you through analysis decisions on a research project you own. Research consulting is the advisory engagement itself: you keep ownership of the work and bring in a senior PhD for the decisions that carry the most risk. Hire a research consultant when you need that judgment without committing to a full-service quote. Research Gold's PhD consulting model gives you 1:1 access to subject-matter PhDs across health sciences, nursing, psychology, education, social sciences, and beyond, billed hourly or by fixed scope. You are matched with a PhD methodologist published in your field, so the judgment you buy comes from someone who has designed and defended studies like yours.
What a Research Consultant Does
A good research consultant is not a writer-for-hire. They help you make better decisions across the project lifecycle: research question and design, sampling and power, measurement, analysis plan, reporting-guideline selection, and reviewer response. Depending on your design, we bring this judgment in before data collection where possible, across:
- Study design (randomised controlled trial, cohort, case-control, scoping, systematic, mixed methods)
- Sampling strategy and sample size justification
- Outcome selection and measurement validity
- Statistical analysis plan and pre-specified hypotheses, reported transparently against the SAMPL guidelines for statistical reporting (Lang and Altman, 2015)
- Reporting-guideline mapping matched to your design: CONSORT for randomised trials (Schulz et al., BMJ, 2010), STROBE for observational studies (von Elm et al., 2007), and the PRISMA 2020 Statement for systematic reviews (Page et al., BMJ, 2021), alongside COREQ and STARD where they apply
- Interpretation of preliminary results
- Reviewer responses and major revision strategy
If you want execution, see our systematic review support, managed meta-analysis service, or statistical analysis help. If you want advisory and decision support, a research consultant is what you actually need.
Thesis Consultant: PhD-Level Guidance for Your Doctorate
A thesis consultant is the most common engagement we run. Doctoral candidates hit walls at four predictable points: protocol design, data collection feasibility, analysis interpretation, and viva preparation. A thesis consultant is an external PhD who knows the literature in your field, has been through their own viva, and can prepare you for the same questions your committee will ask.
Engagements range from a single hour to ongoing weekly check-ins over the full PhD timeline. Most thesis consulting engagements are fixed-scope: a 4-hour viva preparation block, a 6-hour analysis review, or a 10-hour protocol design block.
Dissertation Methodology Help
Dissertation methodology help is a specific subtype of PhD consulting: you have a research question, you need a defensible methodology section, and you need to be able to defend it in your viva. We work through:
- Research paradigm (positivist, interpretivist, pragmatist)
- Justification for chosen design versus alternatives
- Inclusion and exclusion criteria with rationale
- Bias mitigation strategy
- Statistical power and sample size calculations
- Ethics framework
- Data management plan
The deliverable is usually a 3,000 to 5,000 word methodology chapter ready for committee review, plus a written debrief that prepares you for the questions your committee is most likely to ask.