Through analysis of firearm data (from patents, ballistics, manufacturing, gun deaths, and marketing), this project aims to track advancements in firearms from innovation to use in broader society. Textual analysis of firearm patents will give insight into how various mechanisms (eg. safety features) have been adopted in guns available in the market today. In addition, analyzing gun manufacturing, deaths, and marketing data will give insight into some of the historical factors that influence the supply, demand, and beliefs around firearms.
Wesleyan’s Quantitative Analysis Center is funding three summer apprentices (Cheyenne McLaskey, Veronica Goss, and Jake Gale) to derive insights from firearms data, with sources ranging from CDC gun deaths to firearm manufacturing and performance to gun advocacy data. More advanced QAC students (Simin Liu, Patton Yin, and Calvin Gao) are summer fellows, who will analyze 65,000 firearm patents and developing a modern Lethality Index for civilian firearms.
