Understanding the Causes of School Violence Using Open Source Data, United States, 1990-2016 (ICPSR 37935)
Version Date: Sep 30, 2021 View help for published
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s)
Joshua D. Freilich, John Jay College of Criminal Justice;
Steven M. Chermak, Michigan State University;
Nadine M. Connell, Griffith University
https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR37935.v1
Version V1
Alternate Title View help for Alternate Title
Summary View help for Summary
This study provides an evidence-based understanding on etiological issues related to school shootings and rampage shootings. It created a national, open-source database that includes all publicly known shootings that resulted in at least one injury that occurred on K-12 school grounds between 1990 and 2016. The investigators sought to better understand the nature of the problem and clarify the types of shooting incidents occurring in schools, provide information on the characteristics of school shooters, and compare fatal shooting incidents to events where only injuries resulted to identify intervention points that could be exploited to reduce the harm caused by shootings. To accomplish these objectives, the investigators used quantitative multivariate and qualitative case studies research methods to document where and when school violence occurs, and highlight key incident and perpetrator level characteristics to help law enforcement and school administrators differentiate between the kinds of school shootings that exist, to further policy responses that are appropriate for individuals and communities.
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Funding View help for Funding
Subject Terms View help for Subject Terms
Geographic Coverage View help for Geographic Coverage
Smallest Geographic Unit View help for Smallest Geographic Unit
None
Restrictions View help for Restrictions
This data collection may not be used for any purpose other than statistical reporting and analysis. Use of these data to learn the identity of any person or establishment is prohibited. To protect respondent privacy, some of the data files in this collection are restricted from general dissemination. To obtain these restricted files researchers must agree to the terms and conditions of a Restricted Data Use Agreement.
Distributor(s) View help for Distributor(s)
Time Period(s) View help for Time Period(s)
Date of Collection View help for Date of Collection
Data Collection Notes View help for Data Collection Notes
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Data for all incidents were compiled from the search for information from 60 unique search engines.
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This study collected qualitative data that is not included in this release. Qualitative data will be included in a future update.
Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose
The purpose of this study is to better understand the causes of school shootings, and to provide data that can be used to reduce the harm cased by shootings.
Study Design View help for Study Design
The investigators began by identifying the criteria for inclusion. For inclusion in the database the incident must:
- Have occurred on or after January 1st, 1990.
- Have occurred in the United States.
- Lead to a criminal justice response.
- A gun must have been fired (including accidental discharge but not BB or pellet guns).
- Have occurred on K-12 school grounds (Parking lots, after school activities, and school busses are included. Bus stops, walking to school, pre-schools, universities, and school board meetings at non-school locations are excluded.)
- Involve at least one injury or death.
The investigators then employed a multi-tiered effort and reviewed existing databases, chronologies and listings, official records, law enforcement reports (e.g., from the FBI; NYPD; Secret Service), scholarly works (e.g., Hagan & Pah's database; Capellan's database; K-12 School Shooting Database; schoolshootingdatabase.com; schoolshooters.info, etc.), newspaper accounts/listings (for e.g., USA Today; Washington Post), other media's listings (e.g., CNN; NBC), online encyclopedias (e.g., Ballotpedia; Britannica; Wikipedia), blogs, and watch-groups/advocacy reports/listings (e.g., Brady Campaign; Everytown). The investigators also comprehensively searched and scraped the Internet and conducted keyword searches using major search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo, and leading newspapers like the New York Times, to locate relevant events.
Sample View help for Sample
All incidents identified from the universe and meet inclusion criteria.
Time Method View help for Time Method
Universe View help for Universe
All school shootings occurring on K-12 school grounds in the United States from 1990-2016.
Unit(s) of Observation View help for Unit(s) of Observation
Data Source View help for Data Source
The data are compiled all publicly available information on the cases. The collected open source material includes media reports, government documents, court records, social media and other sources.
Data Type(s) View help for Data Type(s)
Mode of Data Collection View help for Mode of Data Collection
Description of Variables View help for Description of Variables
The variables describe the various characteristics of each school shooting. There is information about each perpetrator, including information about their motivations, whether or not they were a student at the school, some information on their home life and family history, and gang affiliation. There is also victim data, such as the number and severity of victims injuries, number of fatalities, and whether the victims were students or teachers. There is also information about the characteristics of each school, including the type of school and what violence prevention strategies were in place. Finally there is information on media coverage and police involvement in the aftermath of each shooting.
Response Rates View help for Response Rates
Not applicable.
Presence of Common Scales View help for Presence of Common Scales
None.
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The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.
One or more files in this data collection have special restrictions. Restricted data files are not available for direct download from the website; click on the Restricted Data button to learn more.