This codebook provides information on how to code information regarding individuals involved with contemporary terrorism and efforts to combat it. The attributes contained in the data describe individuals' general biographical data, such as date and place of birth, as well as more specific information regarding individuals' specific involvement in terrorism or counterterrorism, such as their affiliation with and role in particular extremist groups or government agencies. Although current sources of information on terrorism, such as U.S. and international sanction lists and media articles, focus primarily on Islamist extremism, the attributes outlined by this document are, with few exceptions, equally suited to the description of secular terror. In recognition of the ambiguity inherent to the subject matter, this codebook includes several "double" entries, so that researchers can list individuals' full complement of conflicting names, dates of birth, citizenships, etc. The attributes discussed by this code book are: common name, alias(es), alias conflict(s), title, gender, date of birth, alternative date of birth, place of birth, alternative place of birth, national identification number, citizenship, alternative citizenship, region, nationality hostile to U.S., nationality U.S. diplomatic status, individual attitude toward U.S., religion, sect, ethnicity, progressive, position, enemy type, terrorist role, group affiliation, freedom status, date killed, date captured, last known location, date of first known terrorist involvement, bayat to AQ, Other information, specially designated national, sdn date, U.N. sanctions program, U.N. sanctions date, and attributes which provide links to specific sources.

48 pages

Return to: SCS Technical Report Collection
School of Computer Science homepage

This page maintained by reports@cs.cmu.edu