I am looking to informally do my own research and compile actual data showing crime, gun ownership and other stats regarding the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of gun laws.

The info on this PDF is a good start but I feel it is not enough as it doesn't really look into the recent batch of mass shootings / terrorist incidents.
http://jpfo.org/pdf03/gun-facts-v6.0-screen.pdf

I am also looking to substantiate or quantify some actual data showing the effectiveness / ineffectiveness of gun-free zones and its correlation with the recent mass shooting incidents. 
Alternatively, data showing CCW and lowered crime rates would also be great.   Harvey on the recent interview with Malia talked about how crime in Florida changed when they allowed concealed carry. 

Do you know of any sources of hard data that I can use to quantify these for my (informal) research? 

I thought this video did a good start presenting some hard data


It referenced a couple of places to get the data from..

FBI Uniform Crime Reports
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/ucr

UK National Statistics Crime and Justice Reports
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/hub/crime-justice/index.html

Thank you for your help!

.

It's tough to prove a relationship either way between guns and crime because so many other factors exist, like the fact that shipping our manufacturing overseas has created post-industrial wastelands that are turning into increasingly lawless third world countries within our own borders. When people talk about us having a high murder rate for an advanced country you know they don't get out much. Try driving into a sketchy neighborhood or tent city and it's pretty obvious that we are not a first world country, but have a widely expanding population that has fallen off the economic train and are no longer counted because they would make the numbers look much worse. If you are looking for something that has a more proven track record to influencing crime rates then income disparity is at or near the top of the list, and that's a shameful trend growing in the US today.