How to use CDC data to report on gun deaths

Dan Keating of the Washington Post used the CDC Wonder database to explore the racial breakdowns of gun deaths. What he found challenges the idea of having a gun for protection — at least for some.

"A white person is five times as likely to commit suicide with a gun as to be shot with a gun; for each African American who uses a gun to commit suicide, five are killed by other people with guns."

Learn how to use the same CDC data to investigate causes of death in your area.

Want more?

• Read Keating's story on the Washington Post's website.
• Access the CDC Wonder database.
• Listen to more audio from Keating, ProPublica's Charles Ornstein and USA TODAY's Peter Eisler. "Wading through the sea of data on hospitals, doctors, medicine and more," was recorded at the 2014 CAR Conference in Baltimore. Full-panel audio is only available for members and can be accessed by clicking the link.
• Watch a short video interview with Ornstein and Eisler on the importance of medical data.