On October 24, 2024, a webinar titled “Data Collection and Analysis” was held as part of the “Civil Society for Kazakhstan (CS4K)” project, organized by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) and the INIDI Public Foundation with financial support from the European Union. Around 40 participants attended the event, including representatives of civil society organizations (CSOs), independent journalists, and researchers interested in protecting fundamental rights and freedoms in Kazakhstan.
The webinar was led by Savia Khasanova, an experienced data journalist and winner of The Sigma Awards global competition for her research on femicide in Kyrgyzstan. Savia shared her years of experience working with data and noted that in recent years she has been actively training journalists and human rights defenders in data collection and analysis methods. She emphasized the importance of a systematic approach to data collection and explained why well-collected data is a key element of successful advocacy campaigns.
During the webinar, participants learned in detail about data types and their classification, including quantitative and qualitative, primary and secondary data. Savia explained that data appears in our daily lives, and an important factor in working with it is understanding its structure and meaning. For example, numerical and textual data, statistics, and various reports are all resources that can be used to create more accurate and compelling research materials.
The speaker noted that data collection begins with setting the research goal. This allows the direction, questions, and the type of data required to be determined from the start. Depending on the research goals and resources, one of three designs can be chosen: qualitative, quantitative, or mixed research. Webinar participants learned how to choose the appropriate method for their projects, helping to better structure the data collection process and avoid common mistakes.
Savia shared modern tools that allow for automated data collection from websites. This method is particularly useful when large volumes of information from various sources need to be gathered. Online scraping enables researchers to work with data that would otherwise be difficult to collect manually. Savia demonstrated how to apply scraping to gather textual data and obtain up-to-date information for analysis.
Special attention was given to the importance of proper data interpretation. Savia explained that it’s not enough just to collect data—it must be correctly analyzed to avoid errors and biases. Using examples, she demonstrated how interpretation affects conclusions and the importance of verifying data accuracy before building advocacy arguments based on it.
The data collection and analysis webinar provided a valuable platform for CS4K project participants, granting them access to practical knowledge and tools for working with data. During the event, they learned how to approach data collection, analyze it, and apply it in advocacy work. This webinar highlighted the role of data as a powerful tool for human rights protection and driving societal change.
The webinar was based on a data collection and analysis guide developed by Savia, which will be published soon. While it is still in the release process, you can access the webinar recording via the link.
This publication was funded by the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of IWPR and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.