The Trace seeks input from journalists for new gun violence data hub

A common roadblock on the gun violence beat is finding good data - it's often inaccessible, incomplete or unreliable.

I've often had to cobble together figures from several sources or create datasets with colleagues. For example, I created my own dataset for this story on the overlap of vacant lots and shootings. And in 2020, when it was clear it was going to be a historically deadly year for gun violence, my colleagues and I gathered data from local and state agencies in Missouri and the near real-time data supplied by the Gun Violence Archive.

The Trace, a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to covering gun violence, recently announced a new multi-year project launching this fall to make it easier for reporters to access and use accurate data: the Gun Violence Data Hub.

"The pursuit of good data on gun violence is often too complicated, expensive, or time-consuming for newsrooms to take on," the Trace newsroom wrote in its announcement about the project in April. "The result is coverage that often fails to contextualize shootings and that puts emphasis on mass acts of violence that account for a fraction of annual gun deaths and injuries."

Barriers to finding reliable data

Part of why America's gun violence crisis is hard to understand is weak data. Existing data is often not complete and there isn't enough federal and state funding to study the issue. What's more, legislation prevents the collection and distribution of certain records that could inform why violence persists, according to The Trace.

"These conditions have had a detrimental effect on journalism seeking to go beyond the surface of a public health crisis that claims nearly 50,000 American lives every year," the newsroom wrote.

"The Trace is building the Data Hub - the first resource of its kind - to fill gaps in the current data landscape, facilitate deeper reporting on gun violence, and increase public understanding of the issue."

More about the new resource

For the project, launching this fall, a team of reporters, editors and researchers will collect and clean data for public access, write and share tip sheets on using the data. They will also act as a resource desk for journalists pursuing data-informed reporting.

The Trace published a brief questionnaire seeking input from journalists interested in the project. They're looking to connect with journalists covering gun violence, crime, public safety and public health.

"For the Data Hub to be successful, it must be informed by the needs of journalists - from all mediums, and at all levels," The Trace wrote. "Where do they encounter barriers to obtaining data on gun violence? How could access to regular, reliable data improve their reporting?"

Some existing, reliable data sources

• The National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) is a CDC project that attempts to provide a national picture of violent deaths in the U.S. via states' reports on their violent deaths. All 50 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico submit data to NVDRS. Read our explainer on NVDRS.
• Another good CDC data source is the WONDER database. It collects mortality information from death certificates at the state level.
• The Gun Violence Archive is a nonprofit that provides comprehensive and detailed data on gun violence incidents in the U.S. Check out our explainer on how to use this resource.
• For data specifically on mass shootings, The Violence Project is a nonprofit and nonpartisan research center that maintains a database on mass shootings and mass shooters. Their data on mass public shootings extends from 1966 to the present.
  • Contact: [email protected].