Week 6: Metrics & Method Tweaks

Hey there, data trackers! As we reach the halfway point, this week I’m taking a step back to review the progress I’ve made so far while also sharing a few adjustments to my original methodology, setting the stage for what’s to come.

Beyond getting my wisdom tooth extracted, I’ve spent the past week continuing my data collection for social media keyword frequency as an added factor of public awareness. As this process has progressed, I have encountered a few limitations that led me to refine parts of my original approach.

Google Trends 

In my previous post, I mentioned that I would be using Google Trends as a proportional measure of search interest rather than an exact count, since it reports data on a relative scale. Since then, after meeting with my faculty advisor Dr. Mo, we discovered an external extension called Glimpse, which provides estimates of total search volume over time.

Using this tool, I was able to gather more precise data for web searches related to each drug. However, it does not provide accurate data for other search categories such as Images, News, Shopping, or YouTube. Due to this limitation, I will be refining my method to focus primarily on web search data, as it is the most consistent and reliable while still aligning with my original goals. 

If you’re interested in exploring the precise web search trend data, feel free to check it out on the second tab of this sheet:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1W0KJ-N1_Ch1uZXbPoitE0uAwdygc0SF7_c7ogmgqeCs/edit?usp=sharing 

Social Media Keyword Frequency

In addition to refining my search data, I’ve also adjusted my approach to social media analysis. While I initially planned to include platforms like X (Twitter) and Facebook, I found that these platforms do not provide accessible or reliable public data on keyword frequency due to data restrictions and the sheer volume of posts. 

As a result, I’ve decided to focus primarily on Reddit, which offers more open and structured access to historical data through the website search.pullpush.io. This allows for more precise tracking of keyword frequency over time and aligns closely with my project’s main emphasis on using open-access, transparent data sources.

With these adjustments in place, my dataset is becoming more accurate and focused, setting me up to begin deeper analysis in the coming weeks. Till the next one!

Citations

“Glimpse – Discover Trends before They’re Trending.” Glimpse, meetglimpse.com/. 

“PullPush Reddit Search Tool.” Pullpush.io, search.pullpush.io.