UROP Project
The Impact of Gun Violence on Early Life
guns, firearms, family, health, adolescence, young adulthood, childhood
Research Mentor: Amy M Burdette, She/Her
Department, College, Affiliation: Sociology, Social Sciences and Public Policy
Contact Email: aburdette@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:
Department, College, Affiliation: Sociology, Social Sciences and Public Policy
Contact Email: aburdette@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:
Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: Preference for Public Health or Sociology, but open to all majors
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required: Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5-10, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Not participating in the roundtable
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: Preference for Public Health or Sociology, but open to all majors
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required: Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5-10, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Not participating in the roundtable
Project Description
This project seeks to understand the social and health impacts of public mass shootings on individuals directly impacted by these events. For this project, victims of mass shootings include both those who have experienced these events and those who have lost loved ones due to these tragedies. The following research questions drive this study:1) How does surviving a public mass shooting impact mental and physical health?
2) What coping mechanisms do survivors utilize?
3) What are the individual financial and legal ramifications of these events?
4) How do these events impact family and community life?
5) Following these events, what are the victims' experiences with law enforcement, government officials, and media (including social media)?
This study utilizes a mixed-methods approach, drawing on in-depth interviews with survivors and publicly available data from the AP/USA TODAY/ Northeastern University Mass Killing Database. This data contains information on incidents, offenders, victims, and weapons for all multiple homicides, with four or more victims killed in the United States from 2006 to the present. I will also employ data I have used in previous research, such as the Chapman University Survey on American Fears, U.S. Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, Masculinity, Sexual Health, and Politics Survey, and the Crime, Health, and Politics Survey. These additional data sources include measures of American experiences with gun violence, gun purchasing behaviors, attitudes about firearm policies, and fears surrounding mass shootings. I am particularly familiar with the latter two data sources as I was involved with the survey design and initial data cleaning.
Research Tasks: Literature review and conducting interviews
Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Self-motivated, Curious, and Enthusiastic with a preference for someone with training in qualitative data methods (not required)