2 Do No Digital Harm: Mitigating Technology Risks …
17
Fig. 2.2 Technology Type 2—Digital data collection
error detection also improve data entries, thereby preventing accidental nonsensical
answers. Altogether, running surveys on digital devices rather than paper was largely
seen to speed up interviews, sometimes cutting their time in half. Where an Internet
connection is available, data transfer from the field or field office to headquarters can
be immediate, and makes laborious manual data entry and transfer unnecessary, thus
cutting weeks’ worth or time down to hours. ‘Reporting used to be a headache,’ one
monitoring officer said. ‘With smartphones, it no longer is.’ During interviews, smartphones sometimes offered unexpected further benefits, like drawing less attention
from members of the community than a flipboard would and sometimes giving survey respondents more in-the-moment privacy by typing rather than saying answers.
In addition, field office staff reported that GPS- and timestamps provide certainty
that interviews are actually completed at different times with community respondents in different locations. In Somalia, for example, enumerators were suspected
to sometimes fill out forms in bulk, inventing answers. Typically, this would happen
when it was too difficult or dangerous to reach aid recipients. Because the digital
data entries made this trend apparent, aid organizations could address this issue and
start constructive conversations with enumerators when and where data collection
was too dangerous (Fig. 2.3).
Aerial imagery and geospatial analysis can capture independent and objective
information from areas that are too remote or insecure to reach or where larger
patterns may not be observable up-close. Where access is restricted, this data can
provide valuable insights on infrastructure and shelter, vehicle positions and the
effects of disasters including flooding, drought or landslides. Captured repeatedly
over time, imagery can help assess project outcomes and, in some contexts such as
agricultural intervention, impact. Remote sensing or ‘earth observation’ information
is often visualized on maps or triangulated with other data sets. This is especially
beneficial for making sense of complex datasets and putting information in context
(Fig. 2.4).
17
Fig. 2.2 Technology Type 2—Digital data collection
error detection also improve data entries, thereby preventing accidental nonsensical
answers. Altogether, running surveys on digital devices rather than paper was largely
seen to speed up interviews, sometimes cutting their time in half. Where an Internet
connection is available, data transfer from the field or field office to headquarters can
be immediate, and makes laborious manual data entry and transfer unnecessary, thus
cutting weeks’ worth or time down to hours. ‘Reporting used to be a headache,’ one
monitoring officer said. ‘With smartphones, it no longer is.’ During interviews, smartphones sometimes offered unexpected further benefits, like drawing less attention
from members of the community than a flipboard would and sometimes giving survey respondents more in-the-moment privacy by typing rather than saying answers.
In addition, field office staff reported that GPS- and timestamps provide certainty
that interviews are actually completed at different times with community respondents in different locations. In Somalia, for example, enumerators were suspected
to sometimes fill out forms in bulk, inventing answers. Typically, this would happen
when it was too difficult or dangerous to reach aid recipients. Because the digital
data entries made this trend apparent, aid organizations could address this issue and
start constructive conversations with enumerators when and where data collection
was too dangerous (Fig. 2.3).
Aerial imagery and geospatial analysis can capture independent and objective
information from areas that are too remote or insecure to reach or where larger
patterns may not be observable up-close. Where access is restricted, this data can
provide valuable insights on infrastructure and shelter, vehicle positions and the
effects of disasters including flooding, drought or landslides. Captured repeatedly
over time, imagery can help assess project outcomes and, in some contexts such as
agricultural intervention, impact. Remote sensing or ‘earth observation’ information
is often visualized on maps or triangulated with other data sets. This is especially
beneficial for making sense of complex datasets and putting information in context
(Fig. 2.4).