My work on this project has made me see the connection between science and the social policy and historical issues that are so important to me. I did not understand before how valuable and critical social science analytical tools could be in understanding what I consider to be key moral issues of our time, such as what I studied here – how to reduce health and poverty in this country and abroad. Now I appreciate that through carefully collected and studied data, we can learn much to improve the quality and effectiveness of the policies implemented to address poverty and health … In addition to appreciating the worth of scientific research, I found a higher level of independence through the completion of this project than I realized possible in high school. Free of assignments and grades, I took on this project to experiment and learn for my own pleasure and increased knowledge. It surprised me to find myself not only spending hours obsessing over the project itself, but also enjoying learning a data analysis program called STATA in which I coded data, cleaned data, ran regressions, and analyzed results. Before undertaking this project I would have said that I was not “the type” to master statistical thinking or analysis, but I was wrong.

Read More

• Statistics
• Medicine