A Methodological Analysis of Covid-19 Deaths

Instructions Counting the dead: a methodological analysis of COVID-19 deaths This paper idea came to me as a result of a conversation I had with my barber. The previous day, the state had reduced the number of people who died as a result of COVID-19 by 272. “Thats ridiculous!” he said (OK, he didnt say ridiculous). You cant believe them… theyre just making this stuff up. (OK, he didnt say stuff either). Well I reply, sometimes things that we take for granted are not as simple and straightforward as they seem… On May 28th the COVID-19 death toll surpassed 100,000. I think that most of us, when presented with statistical data, tend to accept them for what they are. In this sense, statistics are black boxed; that is, we are presented with the output (the number of deaths) without knowing the inputs (how deaths are determined). Perhaps when you open the black box you find that generating these statistics are more complicated than one would assume. Now, this assignment is not intended to turn you into a coronavirus truther like my barber. Rather, the abundance of statistical reporting provides an excellent opportunity to go behind the scenes and explore how these statistics are generated. The vast majority of sociological research deals with the living, but did you know that sociologists can also apply their research methods to the dead? For this paper assignment we will open the black box and examine how exactly we arrive at COVID-19 death count numbers. Before getting started, review the first few pages of chapter 2 of your text, up to the Ethnography/Participant Observation section. Pay particular attention to these terms: quantitative vs. qualitative research, hypothesis, variables, operational definition, correlation, causation, intervening variable, and spurious correlation. Now, read these articles: The Coloradoan: Colorado changes how coronavirus deaths are counted FiveThirtyEight: The Uncounted Dead Scientific American: How COVID-19 Deaths Are Counted ProPublica: Theres Been a Spike in People Dying at Home in Several Cities Now thoroughly answer each of the following questions: 1. According to the article in the Coloradoan, why was the death count reduced by 272? In your answer define the term operational definition in your own words and apply it in your analysis. 2. Now take the case of Bob Duffy from the FiveThirtyEight article. What was the problem with the operational definition of a COVID death in his case? What was the likely intervening variable causing Mr. Duffys death? What if Mr. Duffy had died under the same circumstances (at home, no test) on June 1st rather than March 29th? How would his death have been recorded and why? Be sure to define intervening variable in your own words in your answer. 3. Lets say we operationalized COVID death as only those who had a positive test result and then died of a respirtory condition? What is the problem with this operational definition? How would you better operationalize a COVID related death? 4. Using information from the ProPublica and Scientific American articles, explain how epidemiologists use correlation to better estimate COVID related deaths. Is it appropriate to attribute causation to all excess deaths to COVID or could there be a problem of spurious correlation? In your answer define correlation, causation, and spurious correlation in your own words. 5. Explain why counting the dead is