Expert Survey
Purpose
To create a more representative data set for the machine learning component of the project, INSPIRES is seeking to supplement existing data with additional information from experts. Through a brief, anonymous online survey conducted on a bimonthly basis about civic-space related events and information, INSPIRES hopes to counter systematic bias in the sources it is using to feed data in the machine.
Goal
Through the expert survey, INSPIRES will determine:
If the machine is capturing crucial events within a country
If local experts can provide insights before the news picks up issues
If local experts can get around capital-centric news media
If experts can provide local sources like Twitter handles, blogs, etc.
Expert Security
This is an opportunity to participate in a short, de-identified online research survey of civil society experts. The survey will take about five minutes of your time and your responses will be entirely de-identified. This means that your responses can never be matched to you or your personal information.
Expert Benefits
If you agree to participate in this survey, you will receive the same short survey every sixty days. Participation is voluntary, and you may choose not to answer any question in the survey. We will use de-identified data in research to forecast changes in civil society and return the results to you and others who participate in the survey. Once we have collected enough data, we will include a summary report for your country at the end of each survey. If you choose to participate, you will also receive a separate invitation to an online networking opportunity that will connect you with other members of civil society in your country.
How to Get Involved
1. Sign up to be a part of the expert survey twice a month for your country.
2. Identify other knowledgeable experts within your network of partners who can do the same.
3. Identify sources of local data about civic space events that may not be readily apparent to external actors. At its most useful, this data would go back over 2 years, would be gather regularly, and would be captured in a clear, systemic way (ideally with a “codebook” or other document laying out procedures for how data is gathered). INSPIRES will work with these sources to ensure that the data is secured and sued only for its agreed purpose.
4. Sharing innovative ideas for ways to gather information from local and marginalized voices that can be fed into the data repository. Subgrants may eventually be available to support such work under this project.
Contact
If you have any questions about the survey or the project, you may contact Professor Erik Wibbels at e.wibbels@duke.edu. For questions about your rights, contact the Institutional Review Board at 919-684-3030 or campusirb@duke.edu.