Database discrepancies in understanding the burden of mass shootings in the United States, 2013–2020Research in context
Summary: Background: The United States experiences more mass shootings than any other nation in the world. Various entities have sought to collect data on this phenomenon, but there is no scholarly consensus regarding how best to define mass shootings. As a result, existing datasets include differe...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-06-01
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| Series: | The Lancet Regional Health. Americas |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667193X23000789 |
| _version_ | 1797832728231542784 |
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| author | Tristan Bridges Tara Leigh Tober Melanie Brazzell |
| author_facet | Tristan Bridges Tara Leigh Tober Melanie Brazzell |
| author_sort | Tristan Bridges |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Summary: Background: The United States experiences more mass shootings than any other nation in the world. Various entities have sought to collect data on this phenomenon, but there is no scholarly consensus regarding how best to define mass shootings. As a result, existing datasets include different incidents, limiting our understanding of the impact of mass gun violence in the U.S. Methods: We compared five datasets of mass shootings for each year included in five databases (2013–2020) and identified overlaps between each database's incidents. These overlaps and divergences between datasets persisted after applying the strictest fatality threshold (four or more) in mass shootings scholarship and policy. Findings: The datasets collectively include 3155 incidents, but the number of incidents included in each individual dataset varies from 57 to 2955 incidents. Only 25 incidents (0.008% of all incidents) are included in all five datasets. This finding persists even when applying the strictest criteria for mass shootings (four or more fatalities). Interpretation: Data discrepancies prevent us from understanding the public health impact of mass gun violence. These discrepancies result from a lack of scholarly consensus on how to define mass shootings, likely the downstream consequence of the politicization of gun violence research. We argue for a broad definition of a mass shooting and a government-supported data collection program to remedy these discrepancies. Such steps can improve the quality of research and support policy-making and journalism on the subject. Funding: This research was supported by the Pahl Initiative on the Study of Critical Social Issues, University of California, Santa Barbara. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T14:12:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ddd9038c53f341d4ad4c5a524c6429c1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2667-193X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T14:12:28Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Lancet Regional Health. Americas |
| spelling | doaj.art-ddd9038c53f341d4ad4c5a524c6429c12023-05-06T04:39:24ZengElsevierThe Lancet Regional Health. Americas2667-193X2023-06-0122100504Database discrepancies in understanding the burden of mass shootings in the United States, 2013–2020Research in contextTristan Bridges0Tara Leigh Tober1Melanie Brazzell2Corresponding author. Department of Sociology, University of California, Santa Barbara, 3005 Social Science & Media Studies Building, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9430, USA.; Department of Sociology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USADepartment of Sociology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USADepartment of Sociology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USASummary: Background: The United States experiences more mass shootings than any other nation in the world. Various entities have sought to collect data on this phenomenon, but there is no scholarly consensus regarding how best to define mass shootings. As a result, existing datasets include different incidents, limiting our understanding of the impact of mass gun violence in the U.S. Methods: We compared five datasets of mass shootings for each year included in five databases (2013–2020) and identified overlaps between each database's incidents. These overlaps and divergences between datasets persisted after applying the strictest fatality threshold (four or more) in mass shootings scholarship and policy. Findings: The datasets collectively include 3155 incidents, but the number of incidents included in each individual dataset varies from 57 to 2955 incidents. Only 25 incidents (0.008% of all incidents) are included in all five datasets. This finding persists even when applying the strictest criteria for mass shootings (four or more fatalities). Interpretation: Data discrepancies prevent us from understanding the public health impact of mass gun violence. These discrepancies result from a lack of scholarly consensus on how to define mass shootings, likely the downstream consequence of the politicization of gun violence research. We argue for a broad definition of a mass shooting and a government-supported data collection program to remedy these discrepancies. Such steps can improve the quality of research and support policy-making and journalism on the subject. Funding: This research was supported by the Pahl Initiative on the Study of Critical Social Issues, University of California, Santa Barbara.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667193X23000789Mass shootingsMass killingsFirearmsU.S. gun violenceGun violence |
| spellingShingle | Tristan Bridges Tara Leigh Tober Melanie Brazzell Database discrepancies in understanding the burden of mass shootings in the United States, 2013–2020Research in context The Lancet Regional Health. Americas Mass shootings Mass killings Firearms U.S. gun violence Gun violence |
| title | Database discrepancies in understanding the burden of mass shootings in the United States, 2013–2020Research in context |
| title_full | Database discrepancies in understanding the burden of mass shootings in the United States, 2013–2020Research in context |
| title_fullStr | Database discrepancies in understanding the burden of mass shootings in the United States, 2013–2020Research in context |
| title_full_unstemmed | Database discrepancies in understanding the burden of mass shootings in the United States, 2013–2020Research in context |
| title_short | Database discrepancies in understanding the burden of mass shootings in the United States, 2013–2020Research in context |
| title_sort | database discrepancies in understanding the burden of mass shootings in the united states 2013 2020research in context |
| topic | Mass shootings Mass killings Firearms U.S. gun violence Gun violence |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667193X23000789 |
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