Blog Post 10

- For my final project I decided to look at the data sets regarding the history of drug vs. alcohol overdose across states and how these datasets impacted substance use policies in their respective states. 

- My biggest struggle is finding datasets regarding overdoses before the 2000's. The CDC only has from 1999-present. 

- Due to this issue, I changed my project to analyze the prevalence of suicides of veterans during periods of war

- I was able to find a database of suicide rates at the county level from 1968 on the CDC website which I will be using as the primary source for my data


Comments

  1. Sydney BrockNovember 18, 2024 at 4:59 PM

    I am in a very similar position! I'm having trouble finding robust enough historical data for my project, as the majority of the record-keeping seems to have begun around 1990. The database I'm using (GBIF) also provides an option to easily download a CSV, which makes the process much easier. Best of luck in your continued research!

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  2. Savannah BNovember 29, 2024 at 8:24 PM

    A lot of us are definitely coming to terms with having to adjust our project due to difficulty finding appropriate data. I think both your old and new topics are really important things to be studying. Focusing on periods of war for veteran suicides is a really interesting take; I feel like most people do not think about veterans during war times, but they are still there and deserve attention. One thing I am curious to see how you address is what constitutes a period of war, especially since the 21st century focus on terrorism makes wartime feel convoluted to Americans not in the military. I am curious to see how public support for war impacts veteran suicide rates. Looking forward to seeing where you take this project!

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