Crystal Clear: Investigating Databases for Research, the Case of Drone Strikes

Giampiero Giacomello and Damiano Martinelli
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Giampiero Giacomello: Department of Political and Social Sciences, University of Bologna, 40125 Bologna, Italy
Damiano Martinelli: ELT Elettronica Group, 00131 Rome, Italy

Data, 2021, vol. 6, issue 12, 1-18

Abstract: The availability of numerous online databases offers new and tremendous opportunities for social science research. Furthermore, databases based on news reports often allow scholars to investigate issues otherwise hard to tackle, such as, for example, the impact and consequences of drone strikes. Crucial to the campaign against terrorism, official data on drone strikes are classified, but news reports permit a certain degree of independent scrutiny. The quality of such research may be improved if scholars can rely on two (or more) databases independently reporting on the same issue (a solution akin to ‘data triangulation’). Given these conditions, such databases should be as reliable and valid as possible. This paper aimed to discuss the ‘validity and reliability’ of two such databases, as well as open up a debate on the evaluation of the quality, reliability and validity of research data on ‘problematic’ topics that have recently become more accessible thanks to online sources.

Keywords: database analysis; triangulation; media reports; drones strikes; terrorism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C8 C80 C81 C82 C83 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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