Research project on impact of minimum wage in California - where to start?

Currently battling imposter syndrome while taking Micro, Macro, and Econometrics. Wondering where the heck to start on a research project about the impact of minimum wage in Cali. Like, do I dive headfirst into statistical analysis or start with economic modeling? Anyone got tips on not drowning in data interpretation?

And can we take a break to explore some of Cali's national parks too?

For your project, here's my step-by-step:

1. Literature review first. Seriously. Read the Berkeley IRLE working paper on the $20 fast food wage . Read the Clemens/Meer NBER response. Understand the DEBATE before you touch data.

2. Data sources:

• QCEW from CA Open Data
• ACS microdata from IPUMS
• FRED for min wage history + CPI

3. Start simple. Graph the raw data. What do you SEE before any regressions?

The best research questions come from "huh, that's weird" moments in the data. Trust the process and hit those national parks - Yosemite will clear your head better than any study session