W A Collier writes:
How the NCVS miscounted DGUs
Undersized sample, poor methodology, bias in the questions, unsound
methods and procedures in eliminating bias, and unlike Kleck, they
started with the conclusion (there are only a small number of gun
defenses) as an objective to be proven (not the scientific method)
whereas Kleck started with the question (How many DGUs are there) and let
the numbers supply the answer, pro or con.
You need to inform yourself better about the NCVS.
- The sample size is about 100 times that of Kleck's survey.
- The NCVS methodology has been refined over 25 years of use and is
the benchmark for all other victimaization surveys. - The questions are not biased (I bet you don't even know what they
are.) - The NCVS does not use unsound methods to eliminate bias. There is
extensive documentation on the methods they use. I suggest you
consult it. - The NCVS did not start with a conclusion. The NCVS was designed
to measure crime and responses to crime. The DGU estimate is just one
of the statistics you can get from it. On the other hand, Kleck was
famous for his spirited advocacy of the existence of large numbers of
DGUs before he conducted his DGU survey.
More like this
Kleck reckons that 97% of defensive gun users lie to the census bureau
about it. Are we to suppose that 97% of the people don't believe
legal guarantee of confidentiality? And yet those same people will
tell a complete stranger (who may be a government agent posing as a
pollster working for Kleck…
J. Neil Schulman writes:
When a dozen surveys which are specifically attempting to quantify
DGU's finds DGU's an order of magnitude larger than the NCVS, then
you have your answer.
None of those surveys other than Kleck's were designed to quantify
DGU's and they all have problems when used for…
Ray wrote:
They promise confidentiality, and back it up with a law that's at
the top of every survey: "NOTICE: Your report to the Census Bureau is
confidential by law (US Code 42, Sections 3789g and 3735). All identifiable
information will be used only by persons engaged in and for the purposes
of…
"Eugene Volokh" writes:
I should say that I agree with some of your criticisms of the Kleck
& Gertz results, and of the 1.5 million count arrived at by the
NSPOF study;
In case anyone remains who finds the Kleck estimate credible, let me
make a couple more observations:
On page 170 Kleck "…