Best practices in the collection of conflict data

Quality data is at the heart of all empirical research. Data collection on contentious politics, including civil war, terrorism, and protest has proceeded at a rapid pace over the last several years. This special section develops a set of best practices and offers advice to those involved in collecting conflict data as well as those who are regular users of such data. In this introduction, the process of data collection is considered, including source selection, information extraction or 'coding', and data sharing. A set of six rules is offered, which will hopefully guide others as they compile quantitative data on conflict processes.