The purpose of this article is to evaluate the accuracy of three methods used to obtain policy data: (a) government agency surveys, (b) secondary sources, and (c) historical legal research. Changes in laws were identified for all 48 contiguous states for the period 1968 to 1994. Legal research is most accurate for well-established laws that have consistent legal descriptions across nearly all states. Laws that are recently enacted, adopted by only a few states, and treated in a legally inconsistent manner across states require a multistage data collection method to identify accurate policy change information.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Deutsch, S. J.
, and F. B. Alt. 1977. The effect of Massachusetts' gun control law on gun-related crimes in the city of Boston. Evaluation Quarterly1 (4): 543-568.
2.
Edwards, G.
, P. Anderson, T. F. Babor, S. Cassell, R. Ferrence, N. Giesbrecht, C. Godrey, H. Holder, P. Lemmens, K. Mäkelä, L. Midanik, T. Norström, E. Österberg, A. Romelsjö, R. Room, J. Simpura, and O. Skog. 1994. Alcohol policy and the public good. New York: Oxford University Press.
3.
Loftin, C.
, D. McDowall, B. Wiersema, and T. J. Cottey. 1991. Effects of restrictive licensing of handguns on homicide and suicide in the District of Columbia. New England Journal of Medicine325 (23): 1615-1620.
4.
Ross, H. L.1982. Deterring the drinking driver: Legal policy and social control. Lexington, MA: Health Lexington.
5.
Ross, H. L.1992. Confronting drunk driving: Social policy for saving lives. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
6.
Toomey, T. L.
, R. Jones-Webb, and A. C. Wagenaar. 1993. Policy-alcohol. Annual Review of Addiction Research Treatment3:279-292.
7.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
. 1994. Preventing tobacco use among young people: A report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health.
8.
Wagenaar, A. C.1981. Effects of an increase in the legal minimum drinking age. Journal of Public Health Policy2:206-225.
