Same Data, Different Constructs: A Scoping Review Exploring the Use of 311 Data as a Social Construct in Studies of Injury, Crime, and Violence

Non-emergency service requests, often known as "311" calls, provide residents opportunities to report non-urgent concerns, such as loud noise or graffiti, to local municipalities. In the United States, 311 data have been increasingly used to represent complex neighborhood social processes in studies of injury, crime, and violence. However, the same 311 data have been operationalized as varying constructs. This scoping review aims to characterize the use of 311 data and examine the theoretical frameworks used to justify their inclusion in studies related to injury, crime, and violence prevention. We searched four databases from inception through March 4, 2024, and included peer-reviewed articles with a focus on any injury, crime, or violence topic area within the United States utilizing 311 data. After titles and abstract screening and full-text review, study characteristics were extracted from included papers with double-coding procedures. A total of 1681 titles and abstracts were screened, from which 46 were advanced to full-text review. A total of 20 articles met inclusion criteria. Half of the studies (n = 10) employed 311 data for analytic studies, while the remainder were either descriptive (n = 9) or methodological demonstrations (n = 1). The 311 data were positioned as proxies for several constructs, including physical disorder (n = 9), social disorder (n = 4), direct measures (n = 3), civil/political engagement (n = 3), policing/control (n = 3), and collective efficacy (n = 1). Although 311 data represent a promising source of data for research investigating injury, crime, and violence, the varied theoretical frameworks and operational definitions used across studies present a challenge for comparison. Explicit descriptions of theoretical rationale are critical in future work.