This ISHR workshop strives to demystify technical methodologies and best practices related to data-driven research in the human rights and humanitarian contexts. Participants will develop competencies in tools that are essential for generating and analyzing data in relation to human rights monitoring and evaluation, knowledge management, transparency, and more. The training will also tackle larger questions such as how to make research data more accessible and reproducible to maximize benefits to a broader community of researchers, scholars, and activists, as well as in partnerships with various other stakeholders, including donors.
By examining contemporary case studies, best practices, and legal frameworks, participants will:
- Develop a comprehensive understanding of how to safely and responsibly work with data within a variety of human rights and humanitarian contexts.
- Apply a variety of best practices related to data collection and aggregation, data analysis and interpretation, data presentation and publication, and data storage and management.
- Identify situational or project-based needs for data in their professional contexts, and be prepared to initiate and follow through on data-centric projects common in the human rights and humanitarian fields such as monitoring and evaluation, crisis mapping/reporting, or donor/annual reports. This includes a thorough understanding of choosing which tools to employ given the scope and context.
- Critically assess and directly apply best practices that support data privacy, safety, usage/copyright principles, and legal frameworks (e.g. secure email transmission, anonymizing/randomizing data).
Workshop Facilitator: Madiha Zahrah Choksi is a scholar, educator, and activist working at the intersection of technology, privacy, and human rights. Within the Digital Scholarship Team at Columbia University, Madiha’s work focuses on integrating innovative technical research methodologies within both undergraduate and graduate schools at Columbia University through curriculum development and teaching. These literacies include, but are not limited to, app and database building, GIS mapping, social network analysis, 3D printing, and augmented and virtual reality. Madiha is currently teaching within the Department of History, Biological Sciences, the School of International and Public Affairs, and the School of Professional Studies. Prior to this, Madiha led the Digital Humanities Centre at Barnard College where she supported digital literacy through developing experimental digital curriculum, teaching, and hosting dynamic programming.
