RIWI’s random domain intercept technology (RDIT) survey methodology helped the Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC) uncover thousands of incidents missed by news-based data.
Study Overview
IGCC, a research institute within the University of California, has published a new paper by Andrew Shaver, Claudia Loomis, Eliot Jobe, and colleagues. The paper examines how anonymous online surveys can identify political violence, social unrest, and human rights abuses that traditional media reporting often overlooks. The study focused on Bangladesh and Pakistan, two highly populated countries with histories of unrest.
The research team partnered with RIWI to employ its patented Random Domain Intercept Technology (RDIT). Over 36,000 people across both countries were surveyed and asked whether they had witnessed or had direct knowledge of violence or abuse occurring in their district in the past two weeks. In total, respondents reported over 15,000 discrete incidents.
Verification Process
To assess the credibility of RDIT survey responses, the researchers also worked with independent journalists in Bangladesh and Pakistan. Journalists received information on a random subset of incidents reported in the survey that were likely to be locally verifiable. The journalists then leveraged interviews, local sources, and other tools to investigate their accuracy.
- In Pakistan, journalists confirmed 55% of the incidents they investigated.
- In Bangladesh, between 25% and 37% of reports were verified, with many others flagged as potentially valid, but unverifiable due to limited access or time constraints.
- Importantly, very few reports were found to be false.
Key Findings
- Anonymous surveys uncovered large volumes of unreported violence. About 87% of those events in Bangladesh and ~88% in Pakistan uncovered by the survey were missed by ACLED’s news-based data (Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, a media-based conflict dataset).
- The data revealed clear patterns of media “blind spots,” including rural unrest, election-related violence, and sensitive human rights violations like violence against refugees and religious minorities.
- Anonymous online surveys and news-based monitoring were found to be highly complementary. Each methodology captured unique event types that the other missed.
- The mixed methodology enabled near real-time detection of unfolding crises, even during internet shutdowns and other restrictions.
- Survey responses aligned with national internet user demographics, supporting the method’s reliability and representativeness.
Anonymous online surveying combined with independent journalist verification can safely and effectively detect violence and human rights violations that might otherwise remain undocumented. RIWI’s approach offers a scalable, low-risk, and cost-efficient supplement to traditional conflict monitoring tools, especially in hard-to-access or politically sensitive settings.
Read the full paper here: Anonymous Online Survey Detection (and Journalist Verification) of Political Violence, Social Unrest, and Human Rights Violations: Results from Bangladesh and Pakistan)