About

Robert Long

Statistician, data consultant, and recovery specialist — bringing rigour, clarity, and deep expertise to every engagement.

Background

A Career Built
Around Data

I'm Robert Long — founder of The Data Guru Ltd and a specialist in statistical consulting, data engineering, and data recovery. With over 15 years of hands-on experience across industries including healthcare, finance, research, and technology, I've helped hundreds of organisations and individuals understand, protect, and restore their most valuable asset: their data.

My background spans the full data spectrum — from designing rigorous statistical models for clinical trials to recovering files from physically damaged drives. I believe deeply that data literacy and data safety go hand in hand, and my practice reflects that breadth.

I'm particularly known in the statistical community for my work on mixed models, multilevel analysis, and repeated measures — topics where many analysts struggle and where I've dedicated years of research and teaching.

Statistical Consulting Mixed models, multilevel analysis, clinical trials, Bayesian methods, R, Python
Data Engineering & Architecture ETL pipelines, data warehousing, BI dashboards, SQL, cloud data platforms
Data Recovery HDD, SSD, RAID, flash storage, mobile devices — 98% success rate
Diagnostics & Repair Computers, laptops, iPad/iPhone — hardware and software faults

Statistical Methods

Mixed Models Multilevel Analysis Repeated Measures Clinical Trials Missing Data Regression Bayesian Statistics lme4 / nlme

Tools & Languages

R Python SQL Stan Tableau Power BI dbt Airflow

Recovery & Hardware

HDD Recovery SSD Recovery RAID Arrays Flash Storage iPhone Repair iPad Repair Laptop Repair

Community Recognition

#17
Cross Validated — All time, out of 400,000+ users
#1
lme4 / nlme, Mixed Models, Missing Data
#1
Multilevel Analysis, Repeated Measures, Clinical Trials
#6
Python — Cross Validated
#7
R — Cross Validated
#9
Regression — Cross Validated

Philosophy

A Belief in
Honest Data

Data has power — but only when it's handled with integrity, rigour, and an understanding of its limitations.

01

Rigour Over Shortcuts

The right answer matters more than the fast answer. I apply the same statistical discipline to a small business dashboard as to a clinical trial.

02

Transparency Always

I'll always tell you what's recoverable, what's at risk, and what isn't possible. No overpromising, no unnecessary complexity.

03

Knowledge Shared

Years of public contributions on Cross Validated and Stack Overflow reflect a commitment to open knowledge — not gatekeeping expertise.

Let's work together

Reach out to discuss your project, however large or small.

Get in Touch