GTD | Global Terrorism Database - START.umd.edu |

The GTD is an open-source database, which provides information on domestic and international terrorist attacks around the world since 1970, and now includes ... GlobalTerrorismDatabase Informationonmorethan200,000TerroristAttacks AccesstheGTD G WhatistheGTD? TheGlobalTerrorismDatabase(GTD)™isthemostcomprehensiveunclassifieddatabaseofterroristattacksintheworld.TheNationalConsortiumfortheStudyofTerrorismandResponsestoTerrorism(START)makestheGTDavailableviathissiteinanefforttoimproveunderstandingofterroristviolence,sothatitcanbemorereadilystudiedanddefeated.TheGTDisproducedbyadedicatedteamofresearchersandtechnicalstaff. TheGTDisanopen-sourcedatabase,whichprovidesinformationondomesticandinternationalterroristattacksaroundtheworldsince1970,andnowincludesmorethan200,000events.Foreachevent,awiderangeofinformationisavailable,includingthedateandlocationoftheincident,theweaponsused,natureofthetarget,thenumberofcasualties,and–whenidentifiable–thegrouporindividualresponsible. Learnmore DefiningTerrorism TheGTD definesterrorismas: “Thethreatenedoractualuseofillegalforceandviolencebyanon-stateactortoattainapolitical,economic,religious,orsocialgoalthroughfear,coercion,orintimidation.” Thedatacollectionteamusesaseriesofinclusioncriteriatosystematicallyidentifyeventsforinclusioninthedatabase.MoreinformationaboutthedatacollectionprocesscanbefoundintheGTDCodebook. GTDCodebook FAQs WhyhasthelicenceforusingGTDchanged? InordertosecurethelongtermfinancialviabilityoftheGTD,wedecidedin2019thatwewouldengagemoreproactivelywiththenumberoforganizationswhovaluetheGTD.Byengagingwithacommercialdistributionpartner,CHCGlobal,wehavebeenabletoensurethattheGTDremainsfreelyavailableforpersonalandacademicresearch,whileengagingwithorganizationsinamoreappropriateway.Thetermsofuseremainmostlyunchanged,withonlyminorchangesmadetoreflectthenatureofourrelationshipwithCHCGlobal.ThereshouldbenonoticeablechangetohowindividualscanusetheGTDforpersonalresearchpurposes. WhatshouldIdoifI’munsurewhetherImeettheindividualusedefinition? Ifyou’reunsureifyouortheorganizationyourepresentmeetthedefinitionforindividualuse,pleasecompletethecontactformfororganizationaluseandexplainyoursituationinthecommentsbox.Wewillbeintouchtodiscussyourquestion. CanIusetheGTDformyresearch/analysis/project? Yes,weencourageresearchers,analysts,andscholarstousetheGTDintheirwork.Userscandownloadthedatasetbyfollowingthelinksonthe“AccesstheGTD”pagesfor“IndividualUse”.YouwillberequiredtoaccepttheEndUserAgreement.ItisvitalthatyoucitetheGTDappropriately,acknowledgeanychangesyoumaketotheGTDinyouranalysis,andcarefullyreadtheEndUserAgreementasthereareimportantrestrictionstoensurethatthedataareonlyusedforthepurposeofbetterunderstanding,ordefeatingterrorism. Ourrecommendedcitationforthedatabaseis: NationalConsortiumfortheStudyofTerrorismandResponsestoTerrorism(START),UniversityofMaryland.(2019).TheGlobalTerrorismDatabase(GTD)[Datafile].Retrievedfromhttps://www.start.umd.edu/gtd HowcanUSGovernmentemployeesandcontractorsdownloadtheGTD? UnitedStatesGovernment(USG)usershave"GovernmentPurpose"rightsintheportionsofthedatafundedbytheUSG.ToaccesstheGTD,USGuserscanselect"OrganizationalUse"andfilloutthebriefformtorequestaccess.Ourdistributionpartner,CHCGlobalwillconfirmaccesswithintwobusinessdays.Non-governmentorganizationsinterestedinusingtheGTDforUSGpurposesshouldrequestaccessthroughtheirUSGclient.Non-governmentorganizationsinterestedinusingtheGTDfornon-USGpurposesshouldselect"OrganizationalUse,"andfilloutthebriefformtorequestaccess.CHCGlobalwillrespondwithadditionalinformationaboutlicensingwithintwobusinessdays. CanIstillsearchandbrowsethedatawithoutdownloadingthefile? Yes.Alluserscansearchandbrowsethedatabaseaslongastheyaccepttheindividualtermsofuse. Whyisthereadelayinreleasingthedata? Whenfullyfunded,GTDsourcedocumentcollectionoccursdaily;however,systematiccurationofstructureddatarequiresconsiderabletimeandeffortonthepartoftheresearchteam.Thedatabaseistypicallyupdatedannuallyfornon-commercialusers.Commercialusersmayhaveaccesstopreliminarydataupdatesonamorefrequentbasis.TheGTDisproducedwiththeintentofprovidingalongtermviewofterrorismandassuch,weprioritizeaccuracyandcompleteness. Whyarethedatafor1993missing? TheoriginalPGISdata,uponwhichthe1970-1997GTDdataarebased,consistedofhard-copyindexcards,whichweresubsequentlycodedelectronicallybySTARTresearchers.Unfortunately,thesetofcardsfor1993waslostpriortoPGIShandingthedataovertoSTART.Country-levelstatisticsfor1993,includingnumberofincidents,numberoffatalities,numberinjured,numberofU.S.fatalities,andnumberofU.S.injuredwererecoveredfromaPGISRiskAssessmentReportfor1993.ThesefiguresareavailableintheappendixoftheGTDCodebook. Whydoesn'tGTDhaveasingledefinitionofterrorism? Intheabsenceofauniversallyaccepteddefinitionofterrorism,theGTDusesseveralcodedcriteriatocoverkeycharacteristicsofterrorismthroughacombinationofinclusivenessandfiltering.Thegoalistohaveadatasetthatisusefultoasmanyinterestedusersaspossible. PleaseseeourGTDCodebookformoredetails. IcameacrossanincidentinthedatabasethatIdonotbelieveisterrorism.Whywasitincluded? WhiletheGTDinclusioncriteriaofferacomprehensivedefinitionofterrorism,weencourageuserstotakeadvantageoftheGTD'sflexibilitytorestrictthedataaccordingtotheirdefinitionalpreferences.Thisincludesfilteringsearchresultsbasedonwhetherthecodernotedsomeuncertaintywhetheranincidentmeetsthecriteriaforinclusion("DoubtTerrorismProper,"systematicallyavailableforpost-1997casesonly).Also,userscanfiltersearchresultsbasedonwhichofthefollowingthreecriteriaaremet(availableforallcases): Criterion1:Theactmustbeaimedatattainingapolitical,economic,religious,orsocialgoal. Criterion2:Theremustbeevidenceofanintentiontocoerce,intimidate,orconveysomeothermessagetoalargeraudience(oraudiences)thantheimmediatevictims. Criterion3:Theactionmustbeoutsidethecontextoflegitimatewarfareactivities,insofarasittargetsnon-combatants. PleaseseeourGTDCodebookformoredetails. Ifoundafactualerrororacasemissingfromthedatabase.Howdidthishappen? Whileeveryeffortismadeforeachincidenttocorroboratefactsfrommultipleindependentsourcesandtoeliminateerrorsthroughasystematicreviewprocess,themagnitudeofthedatabase(morethan200,000discreteincidents)meansthatoccasionallyanerrorwillevadedetectionandappearinthedatabaseoravalidincidentwillnotberecorded.Inthesecases,werelyonuserswhobecomeawareofsuchanerrortocontactusandletusknowsowecanreviewthecaseandmakeanyappropriatecorrections. DoestheGTDincludefoiledandfailedplotsorthreatstoattack? AlthoughtheGTDdoesincludefailedattacks,itdoesnotincludefoiledorfailedplots,thedistinctionbeingthattheattackmustactuallybeattemptedtoqualifyforinclusioninthedatabase.Likewise,theGTDdoesincludeattacksinwhichviolenceisthreatenedasameansofcoercion,butdoesnotincludethreatstoattackwherenoactionistaken. DoestheGTDincludeinsurgency? Tosomedegree,theGTDdoesincludeactsthatoccureitherduringaspecificinsurgencyorthatcloselyresembleaninsurgentattackagainstamilitarytarget.Withoutcleardefinitionsofterrorismandinsurgencyintheliteraturethesetypesofactionscanoverlap,withinsurgentorganizationsusingviolenceagainstnon-combatantsalongsideattacksdirectedatcombatants.Whileterrorismasatactichasbeenusedwithinanumberofinsurgentcampaigns,theGTDshouldnotbeviewedasacomprehensivecollectionofinsurgentattacks. DoestheGTDincludeincidentsofstateterrorism? No,theGTDislimitedtoactsofnon-stateterrorism.Oneofthethreenecessarycriteriaforinclusionisthattheremustbesub-nationalperpetrators.Thedatabasedoesnotexcludecasesinwhichstatessponsorattacksbynon-stateactorsthatotherwisemeettheinclusioncriteria.Ifitisunclearifanattackwascarriedoutbystateactors,theeventmaybeincludedinthedatabaseandmarkedas“DoubtTerrorismProper:StateActor.” PleaseseeourGTDCodebookformoredetails. DoestheGTDincludetheRANDdatabaseand/ortheWITSdatabase? TheRANDDatabaseofWorldwideTerrorismIncidents(RDWTI)andtheWorldwideIncidentTrackingSystem(WITS)compiledbytheNationalCounterterrorismCenter(NCTC)aretwoimportantdatacollectioneffortsthatcoincidedwiththecollectionoftheGTDforseveralyears.ThesedatacollectioneffortswereconductedbyRANDandNCTCindependentlyofSTART’sGTDcollectioneffort,withtheirowndefinitions,inclusionpractices,andsourcerequirements.TheGTDdoesnotsystematicallyincluderecordsfromeitherRDWTIorWITS.Onaverylimitedbasis,theGTDmayreferenceotherdatabasesorchronologiesamongthesourcesofinformationforindividualcases.TheRDWTIandtheWITSdatabaseswereneverusedastheonlysourcesforanevent’sinclusionintheGTDandneitherofthesedatabaseswerecomprehensivelyincorporatedintotheGTD.AllprimaryandsupplementaldatacollectioneffortsthatcomprisetheGTDarelistedintheGTDCodebook.SupplementaldatacollectioneffortsaresubjecttothesameGTDdefinitionalcriteriaandinclusionpracticesastheprimarydatacollectionprocess. Whomakesthedecisionsaboutwhattoincludeasanincident? ThebasiccriteriawereformulatedbytheGTDAdvisoryBoard,andaredocumentedintheGTDCodebook.Inpractice,trainedresearchersdecidewhetheracasetheyareworkingonfulfillsthesecriteria,andthisdecisionisreviewedbyGTDsupervisorystaff.Incaseswheredeterminationisdifficult,thecaseisraisedforreviewanddeliberationamongthefulldatacollectionteam. Isthereamethodologicalreasonforthedeclineinthedatabetween1997and1998,andtheincreasessince2008and2012? Whileeffortshavebeenmadetoassurethecontinuityofthedatafrom1970tothepresent,usersshouldkeepinmindthatthedatacollectionwasdoneaseventsoccurredupto1997,retrospectivelybetween1998and2007,andagainconcurrentlywiththeeventsafter2008.Thisdistinctionisimportantbecausesomemediasourceshavesincebecomeunavailable,hamperingeffortstocollectacompletecensusofterroristattacksbetween1998and2007.Moreover,sincemovingtheongoingcollectionoftheGTDtotheUniversityofMarylandintheSpringof2012,STARTstaffhavemadesignificantimprovementstothemethodologythatisusedtocompilethedatabase.Thesechanges,whicharedescribedbothintheGTDCodebookandinthisSTARTDiscussionPointonTheBenefitsandDrawbacksofMethodologicalAdvancementsinDataCollectionandCoding:InsightsfromtheGlobalTerrorismDatabase(GTD),haveimprovedthecomprehensivenessofthedatabase.Thus,usersshouldnotethatdifferencesinlevelsofattacksbeforeandafterJanuary1,1998,beforeandafterApril1,2008,andbeforeandafterJanuary1,2012maybeatleastpartiallyexplainedbydifferencesindatacollection;andresearchersshouldadjustforthesedifferenceswhenmodelingthedata.  Ingeneral,trendsovertimeshouldbeinterpretedwithcautionduetothepossibleeffectsofchangingavailabilityofreliablesourcematerials.Likewise,theGTDisnotdirectlycomparabletoothersourcesofdataonterrorism,asdifferencesindefinitions,sources,andworkflowswillproducemisleadinginferences. IneedtoproviderawGTDdataforanacademicjournalreplicationarchive.DoIneedpermission? Yes.TheTermsofUsefortheGTDspecificallyprohibittherepublicationoftheGTDdatainanymanneronanypublicly-availablewebsite.Thisincludesjournalreplicationarchivesandinstitute/researchcenterwebsites,amongothers.IfanacademicpublicationrequiresthepostingofGTDdatainthereplicationarchive,pleasecontactGTDstafftoobtainpermissiontoposttheGTDdata. CantheGTDbeusedasasourceofinformationonlegaldispositionsofcriminalcharges? No.StatisticalinformationcontainedintheGlobalTerrorismDatabaseisbasedonreportsfromavarietyofopenmediasources.InformationisnotaddedtotheGTDunlessanduntilwehavedeterminedthesourcesarecredible.UsersshouldnotinferanyadditionalactionsorresultsbeyondwhatispresentedinaGTDentryandspecifically,usersshouldnotinferanindividualassociatedwithaparticularincidentwastriedandconvictedofterrorismoranyothercriminaloffense.Ifnewdocumentationaboutaneventbecomesavailable,anentrymaybemodified,asnecessaryandappropriate. Whofundsthedatabase? ThecollectionoftheGTDiscurrentlyfundedbytheGermanFederalForeignOffice(FFO)andtheUnitedKingdomForeign,Commonwealth,andDevelopmentOffice(FCDO). STARTisactivelyconsideringfundingsolutionstocontinuetomaintainandimprovetheGTD. Inthepast,GTDcollection,maintenance,andimprovementshavebeensupportedby: UnitedStatesNationalInstituteofJustice UnitedStatesDepartmentofHomelandSecurity,ScienceandTechnologyDirectorate UnitedStatesDepartmentofState,BureauofCounterterrorismandCounteringViolentExtremism UnitedStatesDepartmentofDefense,CombatingTerrorismTechnicalSupportOffice GermanFederalForeignOffice AlldecisionsaboutGTDdatacollectionaremadeindependentlybytheresearchteam.TheGTDdoesnotrepresenttheofficialpositionofanyfundingagency. HowcanUSGovernmentemployeesdownloadthelegacyGTDdata? Currently,UnitedStatesGovernment(USG)usershave"GovernmentPurpose"rightsintheportionsofthedatafundedbytheUSG.Toaccessthisfundedlegacydatauptoandincludingthe2018data,(whichexcludesupdates/revisions)USGuserscanselect"OrganizationalUse"andfilloutthebriefformtorequestaccess.Ourdistributionpartner,CHCGlobalwillconfirmaccess.Non-governmentorganizationsinterestedinusingtheGTDforUSGpurposescannolongerrequestaccessthroughtheirUSGclient.Non-governmentorganizationsinterestedinusingtheGTDshouldselect"OrganizationalUse,"andfilloutthebriefformtorequestaccess.CHCGlobalwillrespondwithadditionalinformationaboutlicensingandfees. HowcanUSGovernmentemployeesdownloadthemostrecentGTDData? USGuserscanselect"OrganizationalUse"andfilloutthebriefformtorequestaccess.Ourdistributionpartner,CHCGlobalwillrespondwithadditionalinformationaboutlicensingandfees. GetinTouch Pleaseselecttheteamyouwouldliketocontactfromtheoptionsbelow: GTDMediaEnquiries ForgeneralmediainquiriesorinsightfromSTARTresearchers,contactSTART’sCommunicationsDirectorhere. Getintouch GTDAnalystTeam ForquestionsorfeedbackabouttheGTD,thedatacollectionprocess,andanalysiscontacttheGTDteamatSTARThere. Getintouch LicensingEnquiries ForquestionsaboutlicensingtheGTDforpersonalororganizationaluse,orconsultationwithGTDresearchers,contactCHCGlobalhere.   Getintouch  Copyright©2009-2021UniversityofMarylandNationalConsortiumfortheStudyofTerrorismandResponsestoTerrorismAnEmeritusCenterofExcellenceoftheU.S.DepartmentofHomelandSecurity DataandPrivacy |  EndUserAgreement |  Contact