Terrorism Research & Analysis Consortium
The [...] Research and Analysis Consortium (TRAC) is an electronic compendium of data and analysis of [...] and political violence. It provides key data, research, and analyses to professors and students, journalists, and professional researchers and analysts to assist in the study of these fields. TRAC provides accurate and in-depth information supplied by experts from across the globe, and contains master indices of known [...] groups, affected or vulnerable regions, [...] activities, and original articles.
According to WGBH, TRAC is "an anti-[...] research group". Founded by Veryan Beacham Kahn, TRAC "profiles and analyzes over 4,000 [...] groups."
History
TRAC was officially launched in Fall 2011 by the Beacham Group LLC, an academic and reference publisher. Founded in 1985 as Beacham Publishing Corp., Beacham specializes in comprehensive reference works in subject areas such as endangered species, environmental issues, young adult literature, popular fiction, European and American biography and, mostly recently, TRAC.
Components
Group Profiles
TRAC catalogues profiles 4,500+ groups that have been known to aid and abet political violence or [...] organizations, including hate/racist groups (such as the Ku Klux Klan), lone wolves (such as Timothy McVeigh), Islamist groups (such as al Qaeda, ISIS, and Boko Haram), and government counterterrorism campaigns. Each profile includes (when known) the group’s tactics, targets, ideology, associated groups, leaders, theater of operation, and events associated with the group.
Analysis
TRAC provides original, commissioned analyses of seminal [...] topics ranging from gender and [...], and Quranic understandings of violent Jihad, to vulnerable cities, and urban [...].
Chatter Control
TRAC continuously monitors important news and analytical sources, and posts feeds to the site as events unfold. Sources include well-known international news organizations, regional newspapers, blogs, think tank releases, [...] group communiqués and under the radar commentary. TRAC has archived over 15,000 sources that are searchable.
Publishing Center
TRAC’s editorial board provides an opportunity for scholars and journalists to publish their research, which is cross-linked to relevant articles and profiles within TRAC’s database. TRAC also lists 2,200+ resource centers (universities, think tanks, government agencies) with links to their websites.
Media Coverage
TRAC sources have been cited by NBC, ABC, Vice News, The Philippine Star, The Herald Scotland, The Washington Post, Gulf News, CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Company), The Daily Mail. TRAC’s editorial director, Veryan Khan, is often interviewed on critical developments and breaking news on [...] for news outlets, including NPR, FRI (Radio France International), and al Jazeera.
Reviews and Awards
- In 2012, TRAC received a citation for Best Reference by Library Journal.
- Cheryl LaGuardia, senior research librarian at Harvard, published the first major review in February 2012, referring to TRAC as a “remarkable file.
- The 2013 edition of CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries cited TRAC as “an excellent, easy-to-use, interdisciplinary resource for novice or experienced researchers.”