Death Rates in 5 selected Colorado counties compared to the mean U.S rates The Provided Graphic shows the statistical comparisons between counties : Larimer, Denver, Teller, Pueblo, Costilla, and the U.S Mean Rates, Specifically in reference to total deaths by population, Homicides, accidental death cause by firearm, caused by alcohol, and drowning. Brenton Downey

Data Sources Colorado Department of health and Environment United States Center for Disease Control 2010 U.S National Census Division of Vital Statistics Colorado.gov (and subsidiaries) The above sources were used to gather base raw data such as: the populations of the selected counties, the numbers of deaths in each county for the selected year of 2013, number of deaths based on specific causes for each county, number of deaths in U.S caused by drowning, drowning risk assessments for Colorado, and number of counties in the U.S. Brenton Downey

Data Analysis Using the afore mentioned data and simple math I was able to create the above data chart in order to organize and analyze the data I had gathered. I used the five counties as a data sample to estimate the U.S mean for each cause of death. This was done by getting a set of descriptive statistics on each set of data then, by using a 95% confidence interval, I was able to calculate an estimate for the average county and U.S means. My confidence interval was than compared to two separate base data calculations of the average and U.S county rates, acquired in my data research, in order to validate the accuracy of my estimates. Each estimate fell within a reasonable distance from the data gathered so I moved forward. I was then able to determine whether each selected county had a higher risk of death than the average U.S county by simply calculating Z scores and the probability of a random U.S county being selected being below each of the 5 selected counties. The last calculation was using a hypothesis test to determine whether the risk of death In Colorado is significantly different then for the entire U.S Brenton Downey

Findings * All data is on average a per year basis. Brenton Downey