Conflicting Sources
Do facts in different sources conflict with each other?
1. While researching gun control, you found this widely publicized fact from a study by Dr. Gary Kleck.:
"Guns used 2.5 million times a year in self-defense. Law-abiding citizens use guns to defend themselves against criminals as many as 2.5 million times every year -- or about 6,850 times a day.1 This means that each year, firearms are used more than 80 times more often to protect the lives of honest citizens than to take lives."
Source: Gun Owners of America
2. You also found information from another study where a Harvard researcher found something which conflicts with the first fact. The researcher concluded:
"Guns are used to threaten and intimidate far more often than they are used in self defense. Most self reported self defense gun uses may well be illegal and against the interests of society." Source: Injury Prevention
3. In the LRC, you found a book called the Encyclopedia of Gun Control and Gun Rights that points out a lot of researchers think Dr. Kleck's study is wrong. Two of the three sources disagree with the third.
We can probably challenge the accuracy of the fact and probably shouldn't use the fact in your paper.
1. While researching gun control, you found this widely publicized fact from a study by Dr. Gary Kleck.:
"Guns used 2.5 million times a year in self-defense. Law-abiding citizens use guns to defend themselves against criminals as many as 2.5 million times every year -- or about 6,850 times a day.1 This means that each year, firearms are used more than 80 times more often to protect the lives of honest citizens than to take lives."
Source: Gun Owners of America
2. You also found information from another study where a Harvard researcher found something which conflicts with the first fact. The researcher concluded:
"Guns are used to threaten and intimidate far more often than they are used in self defense. Most self reported self defense gun uses may well be illegal and against the interests of society." Source: Injury Prevention
3. In the LRC, you found a book called the Encyclopedia of Gun Control and Gun Rights that points out a lot of researchers think Dr. Kleck's study is wrong. Two of the three sources disagree with the third.
We can probably challenge the accuracy of the fact and probably shouldn't use the fact in your paper.