Byrd Data Visualization Lab

About Me

• Interests: Big data, 3D Modeling, and 3D Visualizations.
• Hobbies: In my free time I enjoy attending the Purdue VR Club and Purdue Board Gamers United Club.
• Something Interesting About Me: In high school my nickname was Ice and some people still call me that.
• Background: I have taken CGT 270 Intro to Data Visualization and learned to use Tableau.
• CITI Training Certified

I am a junior at Purdue University majoring in Computer Graphics Technology with a focus in Game Studies and animation while pursuing a degree in the Purdue honors program. This research project is helping to advance the research of the Byrd Data Visualization Lab as well as contributing to a Honors Scholarly Project. I have taken CGT 270 Intro to Data Visualization and learned the 7 stages of Data Visualization which I plan to implement into this research project. I am familiar with the software Tableau which is a visualization tool to create graphs and charts. During my research I will learn Data Driven Documents (D3.js) an interactive visualization tool to create an interactive visualization of the project.

Publications

Williams, I (2018). "Proposal for publishing the final research paper in the Purdue undergraduate research journal", JPUR, Accepted.

Williams, I (2018). "Abstract for the Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium", OUR Symposium, Accepted.

Williams, I (2018). "Identifying Contributing Factors to the Opioid Abuse in Indiana Using Visual Analytics", JPUR, Accepted as Research Snapshot, Submitted.

Williams, I (2018). "Identifying Contributing Factors to the Opioid Abuse in Indiana Using Visual Analytics Poster", OUR Symposium, Accepted. Presented

Williams, I (2018). "Identifying Contributing Factors to the Opioid Abuse in Indiana Using Visual Analytics", Research Paper, Completed.

Research Project: Identifying Contributing Factors to the Opioid Abuse in Indiana Using Visual Analytics

The state of Indiana, like most of the county is facing its most formidable opponent to date: opioid abuse. According to the American Society of Addiction Medicine, “Opioid Addiction 2016 Facts and Figures,” drug overdose is the leading cause of accidental death in the US, with 52,404 lethal drug overdoses in 2015; opioid addiction is driving this epidemic. Opioids are prescribed to dull pain, but they can lead to addiction. BlueCross Blue Shield Insurance Company in June of this year reported the opioid addiction epidemic is one of the nations’ foremost health crises and that opioid abuse/overdose is considered a leading cause of shortened life expectancy in the United States [1]. Critical times call for critical and analytical measures and all efforts to help identify ways to combat the opioid assault on the nation. This research will address the following research questions: (1) what are the contributing factors to opioid abuse in the state of Indiana? (2) What unknown patterns exist in the data that could recommend solutions to the epidemic? and (3) what is the most effective and way to visually represent these findings in a way that informs but does not overwhelm? http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/12/08/504667607/life-expectancy-in-u-s-drops-for-first-time-in-decades-report-finds.

Project Summary

Week 1

Requested access to KNOY 373. CITI Training was completed before week 1. Completed hiring paperwork.

Week 2

Established initial research goals for the semeseter. They are (1) Find 20 sources on previous research, (2) Create 5-10 refined visualizations, and (3) Interview people related to opioids. Started looking for references on previous research. Went over tutorials for D3. Set up all of the basic documents and the personal webpage.

Week 3

Finished going over tutorials for D3, acquired additional data from Indiana State Department of Health, and parsed both data sets. Laid the framework for the interactive visualization. Found a research paper that is related to my project titled "The Opioid Crisis in North America. The paper is a global commission on drug policy focused on the opioid crisis in North America. It includes the root crisis and provides lessons learned as well as recommendations for the future. [2] Global Commision on Drug Policy: The Opioid Crisis in North America

Week 4

The data sets acquired from the Indy Big Data Visalization Challenge and the Indiana State Department of Health were parsed and data mined. The fifth step, represent in the seven stages of data visualization was also started after the data was mined. "The Opioid Crisis in North America" research paper was summarized for a paper presentation.

Week 5

The data sets acquired from the Indy Big Data Visalization Challenge and the Indiana State Department of Health were represented using Excel and refined using Tableau. A rough draft of the final research paper was started which will be submitted to the Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research by the end of the research project.

Week 6

Completed the first stage of refining graphs from excel by using Tableau. Later on once more data and information is found then more graphs will be created and refined again or the graphs can be refined even further. A submission was sent to JPUR for a consideration for the journal to publish when the project is completed at the end of the semester and the final paper is completed. I also shared a paper presentation during the research meeting on the "The Opioid Crisis in North America" which was a global commission on drug policy which was discovered in Week 2.

Week 7

The abstract for the OUR poster Symposium was completed and submitted to the OUR Undergraduate Research Conference. The node links for the D3 interactive visualization were created which connected all of the separate circles in the interactive visualization. The numerical data as well as the colors for the circles was added. The zoom function in D3 is one issue with the interactive visualization that I am struggling with and am having issues getting it to work.

Week 8

Started working on the draft of the poster for the OUR Poster Symposium. Researched more ways of trying to create a zoom for the interactive visualization however it has been difficult to find the right code to make the zoom work. So far all of the effort in creating a zoom effect is not currently working.

Week 9

Finished the first draft for the poster for the OUR Symposium. Presented my work for the CGT 270: Intro to Data Visalization class. The interactive visialization is now able to zoom and pan as I was finally able to get it to work. A reset button was created to reset the zoom was also added to the visualization.

Week 10

Spring break.

Week 11

Completed version 2 of the OUR Poster by updating a few of the images and formatting the poster. Completed the first draft of the OUR Poster Elevator Pitch after attending an OUR Seminar. Completed the research minutes video. The abstract for the Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium and the proposal for publishing the final research paper in the JPUR were accepted. The JPUR proposal was approved for a research snapshot.

Week 12

Finished the 2nd and somewhat 3rd or final version of the Research Poster. The interactive visualization and research minutes video were both finalized. The first draft of the research snapshot for JPUR was completed. Also attended the All Author Meeting for the JPUR Research Snapshot to have the Research Snapshot reviewed by a member from the student editorial board (SEB). Started to revise and format the final paper.

Week 13

The JPUR Snapshot was not ready to submit yet, the plan is to submit it next week. The OUR poster was finalized and printed out. The elevator pitch was finalized and practiced a little. Instead of memorizing and elevator pitch, key points will be used to orate the poster so that the discussion is freer flowing.

Week 14

Presented the poster at the OUR Symposium. Submitted the JPUR Snapshot and also submitted the scholarly project verification because this research project is also an honors project through the Purdue Honors College.

Week 15

Completed the Rsearch Paper Draft and it is close to being finalized for the reserach project. Completed the 5 page reflective paper for the OUR Scholars and created a Spring 2018 Scholar Impact paper. Revised the research minutes video by adding an additional slide with the research questions.

Week 16

Finished the research paper and also started to format it for submission to the VINCI Research Conference. Also finalized the index.html and updated it. Created and added all files to a folder called Spring2018_FinalProjectFiles. Wrapped up and tied off loose ends for everything else in the Project Status Worksheet.

Final Report

OUR Research Symposium Abstract

2018 Purdue Undergraduate Research Conference

Link to OUR Research Symposium Abstract

JPUR Proposal

Link to JPUR Proposal

Poster

Link to Poster

Research Snapshot

Download Research Snapshot

Link to Research Snapshot

Final Research Paper

Download Research Paper

Link to Paper

Research Minutes Video

Final Interactive Visalization

Link to Interactive Visalization

Reflective Paper

References

[1] Stein, R. (2016, December 08). Life Expectancy In U.S. Drops For First Time In Decades, Report Finds. Retrieved February 14, 2018, from https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/12/08/504667607/life-expectancy-in-u-s-drops-for-first-time-in-decades-report-finds

[2] Annan et al. (October 2017). The Opioid Crisis in North America. Retrieved January 26, 2018, from http://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/2017-GCDP-Position-Paper-Opioid-Crisis-ENG.pdf

[3] INDY BIG DATA CONFERENCE 2017 VISUALIZATION CHALLENGE. (n.d.). Retrieved March 02, 2018, from http://indybigdata.com/visualization-challenge/

[4] May, B. (2017, November 22). Short- vs Long-Acting Opioids for Osteoarthritis Pain. Retrieved April 06, 2018, from https://www.clinicalpainadvisor.com/arthritis/short-acting-opioid-treatment-for-osteoarthritis-pain/article/709166/

[5] Overdose Prevention: Indiana Specific Data. (n.d.). Retrieved March 02, 2018, from https://www.in.gov/isdh/27393.htm

[6] 5 Things that Contribute to Opioid Overdose. (2016, April 05). Retrieved April 06, 2018, from http://www.opium.org/5-things-that-contribute-to-opioid-overdose.html

Links to Data Sets

Software

Additional Information and Links

Introduction to D3.js: Demystifying the challenges

Building Interactive Visualizations with D3.js

Last updated: 4/26/2018