Analyzing Baby Names Data
Objective:
The goal of this assignment is to practice data analysis and visualization using real-world healthcare data. You will explore baby names data from New York State and create a graph to represent your findings.
Instructions:
Data Acquisition:
- Visit the NYS data website: https://health.data.ny.gov/browse
- In the search bar, type “baby names”.
- Select the dataset titled “Baby Names: Beginning 2007”.
- Click on “Export” at the top of the page.
- Choose “CSV for Excel” and download the file.
Data Cleaning and Filtering:
Open the downloaded CSV file in Microsoft Excel.
Select all columns of data.
Go to the “Data” tab and click on “Filter”. This will add dropdown arrows to the top of each column. [Optional: Video Resource] A video demonstrating how to use data filters in Excel can be found in the Course Resources.
Use the filter arrows to perform the following actions:
- Filter for the most recent year available in the dataset.
- Select either “M” (Male) or “F” (Female) based on your preference.
- Filter the data to display only the top 5 most common names.
Data Analysis and Visualization:
Observe how the data changes as you apply different filters.
Using the filtered data, create a graph (e.g., bar chart, pie chart) that visually represents the information.You can choose to:
- Compare names by gender for the most recent year.
- Analyze name popularity trends across different years (if the data allows).
- Explore name variations across different regions (if available in the data).
Data Interpretation:
- Craft a concise and meaningful statement that summarizes the key insights from your graph.
- Imagine you’re presenting this information to a Board of Directors. Your statement should be more than just a description of the graph itself.
- Focus on identifying any trends, patterns, or interesting observations revealed by the data visualization.
Submission:
- Submit your completed Excel spreadsheet containing the graph and your written interpretation.
- Ensure your interpretation statement is included within the Excel document.
Remember:
- Replace the example interpretation with your own analysis based on the data you choose to visualize.
- Strive for a clear and concise statement that highlights the key takeaway from your graph.
This assignment satisfies the following CAHIIM Performance Indicators:
11.3.7 Conduct statistical analysis of the research data and generate visualizations to support the interpretation of the data.
