U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Mismeasuring Militias: Limitations of Advocacy Group Data and of State-Level Studies of Paramilitary Groups

NCJ Number
213874
Journal
Justice Quarterly Volume: 23 Issue: 1 Dated: March 2006 Pages: 147-162
Author(s)
Joshua D. Freilich; William Alex Pridemore
Date Published
March 2006
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This study addressed concerns about the validity of data on the number of militias in U.S. States as compiled by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).
Abstract
The State-level studies conducted by the ADL and SPLC aimed to determine variation in the militia movements' popularity, mobilization, and activities; however, the ADL and SPLC do not report State-level counts of the number of active or all militia/patriot members or active or all supporters, nor do they have State-level counts of the number of militia-organized and inspired behaviors and activities. Instead, they have published counts of the number of militia and patriot groups and/or general summaries of known militia activities by State. These data may not address the actual number of activities, active members, and/or supporters of the groups. To properly measure the number of militia and patriot groups, it is necessary to define them. Although definitions of "militia" are similar in the four studies reviewed in this article, they are not the same. The ADL and SPLC reports do not provide precise definitions of militia and patriot groups. The analysis conducted does not necessarily invalidate the findings of any one or all of the studies examined. Rather it identifies significant weaknesses. The central argument is that the estimates of the dependent variable have significant methodological, definitional, and reporting limitations that weaken confidence in data from previous studies. These measurement issues must be addressed in order to ensure the reliability and explanatory power of inferences drawn from the data. 3 tables and 39 references

Downloads

No download available

Availability