This presentation was given during a conference on online research for country of origin information, organised by the European Asylum Support Office on 26/27 March 2014. It deals mainly with tools and techniques to gather, manage and retrieve online information for both groups and individuals.
2. Who we are
HURIDOCS: Malta
26th
March 2014
• HURIDOCS was founded in 1982
• Secretariat in Geneva, active around
the world
• Working with human rights
organisations on using information
effectively
3. What is information
management?
HURIDOCS: Malta
26th
March 2014
• Curate sources
• Organise them according to
keywords, categories, other metadata
• Retrieve content now and in the
future
• Find information you are looking for
• Share information with colleagues
4. Why should you care?
HURIDOCS: Malta
26th
March 2014
• Do not miss important developments
• Be able to quickly retrieve
information when you need it
• Handle more sources, provide richer
analysis, better-informed advice
• Exchange information more
effectively as a team
5. Types of information
HURIDOCS: Malta
26th
March 2014
• Web: Standardised data formats, e.g.
RSS, that can be retrieved using
off-the-shelf tools
• Web: Other data formats (most
websites)
• Social media (standardised, but often
proprietary formats, e.g. Twitter)
• Files: PDF, doc, etc.
6. Strategies for individuals
HURIDOCS: Malta
26th
March 2014
• What sources do you need to
capture?
• Which format are they in?
• Do you need to organise information
flows in real time?
• How important is it to retrieve
information at a later stage?
7. Strategies for individuals
HURIDOCS: Malta
26th
March 2014
Take the answers to these questions
and some of the tools to build an
information management system that
works for you.
It is unlikely that any tool will solve all
your problems. Combining tools
effectively and knowing their limitations
is likely to give you the best solution.
8. Tools for Individuals
HURIDOCS: Malta
26th
March 2014
• RSS readers (e.g. built-in to Thunderbird,
Firefox)
• Pro:
– Free of charge
– Full control over privacy settings
– Solutions for any operating system and
device
• Con:
– Only RSS, no suggestions
– Requires effort to have it on all devices
10. Tools for Individuals
HURIDOCS: Malta
26th
March 2014
• Feedly
• Pro:
– Free of charge (basic version)
– Very easy to use on multiple devices
– Good integration of some external services
• Con:
– Pro version incurs costs (45 USD/year)
– Potential privacy issues, need to trust them
to stay in business
13. Tools for Individuals
HURIDOCS: Malta
26th
March 2014
• Google Alerts
• Pro:
– Free of charge, updates on new items
for queries
– Easy set up to get email reminders or
RSS feed
• Con:
– Privacy issues
– Need to trust them to stay in business
16. Tools for Individuals
HURIDOCS: Malta
26th
March 2014
• Kimono
• Pro:
– Powerful way to track changes in non-RSS
sites
– Possible to build powerful applications on it
• Con:
– Beta version, rough edges
– Free while in beta, will cost
– Not straight forward for all users
19. Tools for Individuals
HURIDOCS: Malta
26th
March 2014
• Storify
• Pro:
– Very easy way to capture different social
media sources
– Compelling public presentation
• Con:
– Need to connect with social media
accounts, privacy implications
– Is built for publishing, so the idea is it goes
public
21. Tools for Individuals
HURIDOCS: Malta
26th
March 2014
• For document management:
– Mendeley
– Endnote
– Zotero
Problem: No integrated solution
available for web sources and
documents and social media.
22. Strategies for groups
HURIDOCS: Malta
26th
March 2014
• What information do you need to
exchange?
• What problems arise, if you do or do
not exchange?
• Can you do this in a way that
benefits all members of the group?
• Are you able and willing to invest?
23. Strategies for groups
HURIDOCS: Malta
26th
March 2014
Information management solutions for groups
or organisations can be a challenge. They are
best implemented in close consultation with
members, so they feel ownership and see
added value.
Yet, the benefits of a succesful implementation
can be very high. Group members will work
more effectively and have more of the fuel that
drives their work – information. Newcomers
will have an easier start.
24. Strategies for groups
HURIDOCS: Malta
26th
March 2014
• Unlike for individuals, there is a
lack of off-the-shelf solutions
• A solution can be a creative
sharing of solutions presented
earlier
• Other solutions are often bespoke
or customisations of document
and record management systems
26. Examples
HURIDOCS: Malta
26th
March 2014
• SOVA Center – monitoring hate
crimes in Russia
• Bespoke solution to automate
crawling of websites
• Saves more than 10 hours of
staff time every day
• Organisation can focus on
analysis, instead of gathering
28. Examples
HURIDOCS: Malta
26th
March 2014
• African Commission on Human
and Peoples' Rights
• Bespoke solution to gather state
reports in a structured way
• Results visualised on the website
using maps and tables
• Solution that benefits staff and
public
30. Summary
HURIDOCS: Malta
26th
March 2014
• Information management can greatly
benefit individuals and groups
• Excellent solutions for individuals
exist, but are not integrated
• Solutions for groups often bespoke,
but can generate great value
• Not an end in itself, should be
closely tied to goals and people
working on achieving them
31. Thank you for your
attention!
Visit us: www.huridocs.org
Contact me:
friedhelm@huridocs.org,
@whyfrycek
