Week 8: Revising

Welcome back everyone! I can’t believe we are already on week 8. It is so crazy that this project is coming to an end. 

I spent this week writing the discussion and conclusion section of my final paper. I discussed how the unemployment rate and poverty rate had the strongest correlations to depression during the pandemic and how there was an urban-rural divide, mainly due to the covid-19 restrictions. I also discussed future research possibilities which were :

-If the effect of the pandemic on mental health was different in populations without internet access(see my week 6 blog for more information about that).

-The urban-rural divide on the effect of mental health in different genders or ethnicities. is hypothesized that most unskilled jobs were lost which were primarily dominated by minority ethnic populations which mostly live in urban areas. In addition, female industries that were hit the hardest during the pandemic were mostly female-dominated industries such as retail, hospitality, and education. Due to this, it is hypothesized that minorities in urban areas had the most negative mental health impact during the pandemic.

-Another future research possibility was to use a large sample size. With a sample size of 16 states and 4 independent variables, the multivariate regressions that were run did not come back with statistical significance unless variables were dropped. If the sample size had all 50 states, the multivariate regressions may return with more of the correlations being significant and a clearer picture of what variable had the strongest impact would have been painted. 

My on-site mentor also gave me some suggestions on my project. Her main point was to make my paper more concise so it can be easier to understand. I am aiming to have a strong second draft by May 10th so that my mentor can send it to her colleagues. See you next week!