GTTAC TERMS OF USE AND CITATION POLICY

Last Updated: October 23, 2023

All data collection efforts that are similar in scope and mission to the Global Record of Incident Database (GRID) and our team at the Global Terrorism Trends and Analysis Center (GTTAC) have a Terms of Service and Citation policy to protect the integrity and fair use of their data. This is our policy, and it is written to protect GTTAC; Development Services Group, Inc.; George Mason University; and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Counterterrorism while maintaining transparency, public accessibility, and fair use to all applicable parties.

All rights to use, download, or analyze GRID data or analysis are conditioned on the user’s adherence to the Attribution Policy outlined below.


Terms of Use 

No user is permitted to (i) use GRID data or analysis in any manner that may harm, target, oppress, or defame GTTAC; Development Services Group Inc.; George Mason University; the U.S. Department of State; the data subjects; or any group or population; or cause any of the foregoing to be harmed, targeted, oppressed, or defamed; (ii) provide, permit or allow direct access to any of GRID original/raw data or analysis; (iii) use any of the data or analysis to create, develop, support, or provide benchmarking for any dataset, product, or platform similar to, or in competition with, or create a functional substitute for, any of GRID’s content, products, or platform; and (iv) provide, permit, or allow access to any of the data or analysis by GRID’s competitors. If you wish to use GRID’s data in your own data collection efforts, please contact us to discuss the terms of use and potential collaboration.

Crawling the GTTAC website or Application Programming Interface is allowed if done in accordance with the provisions of our robots.txt file and if use is in accordance with our Attribution Policy, but scraping is prohibited.

Attribution Policy

  1. If using GRID data in any way, direct or manipulated, the data must be clearly and prominently acknowledged. Proper acknowledgement includes
    1. A footnote with the full citation which includes a link to GTTAC’s website (see below for examples).
    2. In-text citation or acknowledgement stating that GTTAC is the source of the data and that the data are publicly available.
    3. Clear citation on any and all visuals making use of GTTAC data.
  2. If generating a data file for public or private use, and presenting those data to another party, the GRID data included must be directly acknowledged in a source column, including GRID’s full name and a link: GTTAC Record of Incident Database (GRID); www.GRIDdata.com
  3. To reference the GRID Codebook, please write the full reference as follows (substituting for the correct year):
    1. In the manner of the American Psychological Association (APA):

      GTTAC (Global Terrorism Trends and Analysis Center). (2023). GTTAC Record of Incident Database 2023 Codebook. Bethesda, MD: Development Services Group, Inc.

    2. In the manner of the Chicago Manual of Style:

      GTTAC (Global Terrorism Trends and Analysis Center). GTTAC Record of Incident Database 2023 Codebook. Bethesda, Md.: Development Services Group, Inc., 2023.
    3. In the manner of DSG style:

      GTTAC (Global Terrorism Trends and Analysis Center). 2023. GTTAC Record of Incident Database 2023 Codebook. Bethesda, MD: Development Services Group, Inc.

      If you are citing the GRID Codebook, write the in-text citation using one of the following two formats:
    4. In the manner of APA style:

      (GTTAC, 2023)
    5. In the manner of Chicago and DSG style:

      (GTTAC 2023)
  4. If using data from the GRID portal in an academic paper or article, be sure to mention the date of your data access. Since the GRID dataset is a living database and receives periodic updates, your access date will assist in specifying the particular “snapshot” of the GRID data you’ve used. Please reference it as follows:
    1. In the manner of Associated Psychological Association (APA):

      Global Terrorism Trends and Analysis Center (GTTAC). (2023). GTTAC Global Record of Incident Database, 2018–23 [data file]. Retrieved September 30, 2023, from https://gttac.com/data/

    2. In the manner of APA style:

      (GTTAC, 2023)
  5. If referring to figures or statistics published in GTTAC analyses, infographics, working papers, and the like, please reference the individual analysis piece or paper, including the author (or authors), using the following format (substituting the correct year):

    • Blackwell, A., & Healy, E. B. (2018, November 23). Afghanistan in Flames: The Taliban’s Resurgence [Working paper]. Bethesda, MD: Global Terrorism Trends and Analysis Center (www.GTTAC.com).
  6. If using GRID data in a visual, graphic, map, or infographic of your own, please attribute the source data clearly and prominently on the visual itself or within the key/legend and include a link to GTTAC’s website.
  7. If you wish to reproduce or publish a graphic, graph, or map GRID that already has been published (rather than creating an original image using raw data), please cite the individual analysis piece or paper, including the author (or authors), using the following format (substituting the correct year):
    • GTTAC (Global Terrorism Trends and Analysis Center. (2018, November 23). Figure 1.1. ISIS Unbound: Global Networks [Working paper]. Washington, DC: Global Terrorism Trends and Analysis Center (GTTAC). ©2018 GTTAC. All rights reserved. Used with permission from Development Services Group, Inc.

If GTTAC or GRID content does not list an author, the citation should identify GTTAC as the author.

If you intend to use GRID data or analysis in a manner not described in this Attribution Policy, contact us directly GTTAC Project Coordinator at [email protected] for the citation requirements.

If you have questions about the GTTAC Terms of Use and Citation Policy or their application, please contact the GTTAC support desk at [email protected].