You have been awarded a summer internship to join the research group of Dr. Uushig Ivili at the National University of Mejuputara*, who studies how pollution influences the development of allergic diseases Dr. Ivili has recently begun doing work with a community in Edoforo City*, a few kilometers south of the university, and has obtained data from the regional health authority about the number of people with physician-diagnosed asthma in each of 6 zones. She also has some initial air quality monitoring information for particulate air pollution in those zones – more pollutant data will be coming in a few weeks. She suggests that the analysis of this data could be your research project (see Figure 1).

Dr. Ivili reminds you that these are just the initial raw data – there are a number of things that need to be taken into account before you can really start to make sense of these numbers. She challenges you to take some time to think about this, and meet with her again in a couple of days with some ideas about what you think needs to be accounted for in analyzing and interpreting this data.

Identify 3 factors that you think need to be considered in your analysis of the data that you’d bring back to your next meeting to discuss with Dr. Ivili, and explain why these are important.