Gun survey and SD situations

[AlexanderA]

I'd say the more guns one has, the more reluctant he is to talk about them. This skews the results as well.

 

[Kleanbore]

I'd say the more guns one has, the more reluctant he is to talk about them. This skews the results as well.

Responding anonymously to a survey is not "talking about them".

The design and conduct of a survey, and the assessment of the results, is a complex science. Unsupported conjecture about them is of little use.

 

[Blue Jays]

"…Responding anonymously to a survey is not 'talking about them'…"

Anonymously? LOL!
On this very website we constantly advise using caution about EVERY word typed on EVERY post.
The ideal way to deal with pollsters is to hang-up the phone, send emails to spam, or toss the envelope.

 

[Kleanbore]

On this very website we constantly advise using caution about EVERY word typed on EVERY post.

Yes, and we have a Sticky thread on the subject.

But I am among many here who do mention what it is that I carry, and when and where. I have mentioned my involvement in defensive gun use incidents.

Others show pictures of all of their firearms.

Among what we caution against posting is information regarding use of force incidents, things in litigation, and other things that could influence civil and or criminal proceedings.

The survey did not provide a means for describing anything that would remotely involve any of the types of information about which we urge the exercise of caution.

The ideal way to deal with pollsters is to hang-up the phone, send emails to spam, or toss the envelope.

The survey was not conducted by phone or mail.

I would have no problem responding to the survey.

 

[AlexanderA]

I tend not to be paranoid, but these days, when spammers in India can spoof your number, I approach things like surveys with an abundance of caution.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

On defensive gun use, you could have different answers depending on questioning protocol.

Ask: do you own a gun?
If yes, ask: in the past year, have you had to use a gun defensively?

Ask: in the past year, have you had to use a gun defensively?

Ask: in the past year, have you been in a situation where you or another person were threatened?
If yes, ask: how did you react? (go through a list of common options including defensive gun use)

The first protocol will miss people who don't own a gun, but used a gun defensively when the gun belonged someone else.

Other problems with defensive gun use surveys include should you:
_ count DGU against animals?
_ count DGU by LEOs?

 

[Carl N. Brown]

There is a qualitative difference between a poll and a survey. Surveys do have better controls.

I am in bed on my phone. Tomorrow I'll download the PDF from SSRN and add it to my collection.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

Gallup has written that gun ownership survey results fluctuate between 35% and 52% of households depending on how "hot" the gun control issue is politically.

 

[MedWheeler]

Jeff White writes:

...same mistake Kleck did in accepting an incident where a firearm was not displayed as a defensive gun use. In my opinion this skews the number of defensive gun uses towards the high side. By their standard every time I confronted a trespasser it was a defensive gun use strictly because I was armed at the time.

It's likely true that some respondents (or just some gun owners) might report a DGU simply because they were armed. My definition of a successful DGU is essentially any response to a threat that results in the assailant(s) breaking off or otherwise ceasing to be a threat due to having been shot and incapacitated, having been shot and fearing being shot again, or simply fearing being shot. This would include situations in which the defender was not actually armed, but led the offender to believe he or she was, and the offender broke off due to that concern. Including these scenarios in a survey could also skew numbers in relation to frequency of DGU incidents to gun ownership/possession.

 

[MedWheeler]

Kleanbore writes:

When I stumbled into a store robbery about to happen around a decade ago, I moved into position to defend agains the robber, and my action caused him to bolt and run. I was armed and ready, but I did not have to draw.

I do not consider that to have been a defensive gun use.

It probably wasn't, unless the offender interpreted your actions to mean he risked being shot if he continued the act and fled because he feared that outcome. In that case, you would answer (if you chose to participate) a survey question on DGU incidents as if this were not one, but the offender, with regard to this incident, could answer a survey asking if he'd ever aborted a crime due to fear of being shot in the affirmative.

I don't think a gun needs to be seen, or even have its presence verified, by an offender for a DGU to take place. The offender just needs to cease being a threat due to fear of being shot, or incapacitation from having been shot.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

I had downloaded this paper from Social Sciences Research Network SSRN 21 Sep 2021.
William English PhD, "2021 National Firearms Survey", Georgetown University Draft Report: July 13, 2021.
Due to the renewed interest, went back and converted the PDF to a text file to force me to read it in detail.
Another DGU paper for my collection.

Added:
This DGU survey (2021 NFS) asked adult gun owners if they had used a gun defensively and got a 1.67 million DGU per year.
Other gun surveys started with households: does anyone in the household own a gun; if yes, ask the defensive gun use question. That protocol got about 40% DGUs by non-gun owners using a family member's gun.
The 2021 NFS author applied Kleck&Gertz' NSDS non-gun owner DGU percentile and guestimated a total of possible 2.8 million DGUs.

 

[Kleanbore]

It probably wasn't, unless the offender interpreted your actions to mean he risked being shot if he continued the act and fled because he feared that outcome. In that case, you would answer (if you chose to participate) a survey question on DGU incidents as if this were not one, but the offender, with regard to this incident, could answer a survey asking if he'd ever aborted a crime due to fear of being shot in the affirmative.

True.

I don't think a gun needs to be seen, or even have its presence verified, by an offender for a DGU to take place. The offender just needs to cease being a threat due to fear of being shot, or incapacitation from having been shot.

I have no way of knowing whether he "feared being shot", but I think he perceived that my movements cid not node well for the success of his plan.