In early 2006 IBC was invited to introduce its work at a Working Group Meeting on methods used by researchers to estimate armed conflict deaths (organised by the Small Arms Survey, Geneva, 17 Feb 2006).
Well-received by experts at the meeting, On Iraq Body Count summarised the project’s key features and innovations.
Resource issues
- no special expertise needed
- the work is relatively cheap
- the work requires a ‘closed’ team
- requisite web-technology expertise increasingly commonplace
- the work requires a high time-commitment from some personnel
4.2 Features of our work: Resource issues
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You don’t need any special expertise to contribute to a project like this. Time, attentiveness to detail, and commitment are the most important attributes.
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The work is relatively cheap, particularly when significant use is made of volunteers.
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The work requires a “closed” working team that has established trust and common standards. This is not different to any professional reseach team.
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The more complex technical aspects of the work involve web technology. This is an increasingly commonplace expertise.
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Time commitment has to be high for at least a small number of personnel, whose continuous application is required. For instance, it is necessary to collect news stories on a daily basis, before they disappear or are obscured by new stories.