U.S. Gun Ownership Survey with Self-Defense Incidents, 1996

David Hemenway of Harvard University conducted a national telephone survey of 1,905 U.S. adults in 1996. The study collected information on household firearm characteristics, carrying practices, and incidents of weapons use in self-defense against people and animals. Data includes coded survey responses and open-ended verbatim answers.

Use Cases

• Modeling household firearm ownership rates based on demographic and attitudinal variables mentioned in the description.
• Analyzing patterns of gun use in self-defense against people based on incident location and outcome variables.
• Studying correlations between gun-carrying practices (e.g., permits, concealed carry) and self-reported defensive uses.
• Investigating the context of hostile gun displays against respondents, including police reporting and assailant relationships.

Strengths

• Data was gathered from a national random-digit-dial sample of 1,905 adults, providing a defined population snapshot.
• The description specifies a wide range of surveyed topics, including firearm types, ownership reasons, carrying permits, and detailed incident variables.
• Includes both coded quantitative data and qualitative open-ended verbatim responses, allowing for mixed-methods analysis.

Limitations

• Data is from a single survey period in 1996; findings may not reflect current ownership patterns or laws.
• The sample was designed to be representative of households, not individuals, which may affect individual-level inferences.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.

Provenance

Source

David Hemenway, Harvard University

Collection Method

National random-digit-dial telephone survey

Time Range

May 28 to July 2, 1996

Geography

United States (50 states)