Lesson 6: Exploring the data behind brain injury

This lesson exposes students to the role data access and analysis can play in answering questions about TBI. Students examine data gathered from medical and injury databases, as well as explore public perceptions of TBI through the use of Google Trends. Students first utilize Google Trends to gain insight into the way the public searches for TBI information on Google. They then use the Project NEURON dataset collection to explore publicly available data on the occurrence of TBI injuries in various populations. Students then search for a news article that relates to the subject of one of the available datasets. After, students select a portion of the data to represent visually through a graphing exercise in order to supplement or expand on the information presented in their article. This lesson enhances students' perceptions of how TBI is reported in the media, and it illustrates the importance of data collection in the monitoring of TBI.