Scott Alexander investigates the complexities of using Google Trends for mental health research, proposing methods to improve accuracy and interpretation of search data. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores the challenges and nuances of using Google Trends for research, focusing on mental health-related searches. He demonstrates how individual keywords can be misleading and suggests averaging multiple related terms. Scott introduces a two-factor theory: one representing students' intellectual interest in mental health, which is declining, and another representing people with mental health issues, which is increasing. He discusses potential issues like temporal autocorrelation and provides tips for using Google Trends effectively, including the importance of considering school-related search patterns and the lack of need to adjust for general intellectual decline on the Internet. Shorter summary