Aim
SQUARE exists to provide service to our community, to help professionalise through methodological and statistical support with the aim to improve the quality of our research activities and output, to enhance existing expertise and get work published in better journals. Our service therefore merely aims to extend and complement the expertise of our researchers.
Story
SQUARE in 2020 diversified with expertise in qualitative research. In 2025 SQUARE further broadened its scope to also serve external clients, for a return and to ensure self sustainability. Additionally, an AI component is being tested.
SQUARE is the first official core facility at VUB. At SQUARE we aim to support all researchers in our community, in the VUB, Humanities and in Life Sciences and Medicine, and in the UZ Brussel. We intend to grow in relation to the methodological needs of our community, and increasingly address the various aspects that are part of research methodology today.
SQUARE originates from the Biostatistics and Medical Informatics (BISI) which offered consultancy at the medical campus. In 2017 their consultancy was formalized by Kurt Barbé into the Interfaculty Center Data processing and Statistics (ICDS) which by 2019 combined in-house consultancy offered by Ronald Buyl and his team with a full time consultant at the Jette campus. In 2019 a second full time consultant was included to serve the Etterbeek campus.
STAT-SQUARE
SQUARE grew out of statistical consulting, offered by BISI. The quantitative part of SQUARE is a natural extension of this service, aimed at offering expertise to researchers for generalization and modeling. The use of the name STAT-SQUARE reflects this perspective in research methodology and is used to make the link with statistics more explicit for researchers interested in our service.
Q-SQUARE
To broaden our scope, at SQUARE we also invested in support of the qualitative perspective in methodology, which uses different techniques in order to answer research questions focused on understanding opinions, emotions and motivations. The use of the name Q-SQUARE stresses the specific nature of this service.
Financing
Research board, University Medical Campus: full time statistical consultant
Vice-rectorat Research Policy: full time statistical consultant
Onderzoeksraad: half time statistical consultant
Paid services