What question did this study set out to answer?

The aim is to address the limitations of existing bias crime data by presenting the Bias Homicide Database (BHDB).

January 27, 2026

An Open-Source Data Approach to Studying Bias Murder: An Introduction to the Bias Homicide Database (BHDB)

KAKayla D. AllisonUniversity of Arkansas at Fayetteville JGJeff GruenewaldUniversity of Arkansas at Fayetteville

Key Points

The aim is to address the limitations of existing bias crime data by presenting the Bias Homicide Database (BHDB).
Introduced the Bias Homicide Database (BHDB) for bias murders in the US since 1990.
Described the process of open-source data collection and assessed its reliability and selectivity.
Provided descriptive insights to illustrate the BHDB's utility for future research.
Demonstrated the BHDB overcomes limitations of official bias crime data.
Showcased how researchers can leverage the BHDB for empirical analysis of bias murders.

Abstract

This research note introduces the Bias Homicide Database (BHDB), a relational, open-source dataset with information on bias murders committed in the United States since 1990. We first describe the limitations of official bias crime data and how the BHDB overcomes obstacles to empirically studying one type of bias crime—bias murder. Second, the multi-step process for open-source data collection is described in detail along with potential issues of reliability and selectivity. Finally, and third, we provide some descriptive results to demonstrate the contributions of the BHDB and how researchers may use the dataset moving forward.

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