Survey and Category Classification

Why classification is important and how to do it

Classification of incoming information ( organization by survey and category) gives meaning to unstructured data coming from the public, making it easier to transform the data into actionable information.

It’s important to have a common understanding of what kind data each of these surveys represent, what the categories mean and how to use them.

1. When creating a post, determine the appropriate survey for the incident you are posting, and select the survey.

2. If you cannot find an appropriate survey to classify your incident under, select the “Other” survey. These will be audited later.

3. If you repeatedly process messages that don’t fit in any of the surveys, please get in touch with any of the co-leads you know in the slack channel, and we’ll have appropriate people decide how to proceed.

This list of surveys and categories was designed to fulfill two different requirements:

1. To provide easy terminology for people submitting posts (as well as to volunteers who are processing the posts) to understand, enabling quick classification of data without specific knowledge and expertise in the field of election monitoring.

2. To provide categorization that reflects the needs and systems of responders in order to provide them with data that can be useful for their operations.

This list of surveys and categories is not set in stone. They reflect evolving situation on the ground and will be edited/modified accordingly whenever it is necessary. If you have any suggestions, please contact Cecilia at [e-mail]

Uchaguzi Surveys

Survey	Options w/descriptions
Counting and Results	Failure to announce results by IEBC official Irregularities with transportation of ballot boxes No Transport to Deliver Ballot Boxes/Ballot Boxes not Transported to Tallying Centre Ballot Boxes Destroyed After Announcing Final Results Protest over declared results Violence, demonstration Counting Irregularities Ballot Papers not Being Counted in a Transparent Manner Observers or Party Agents not Allowed In The Hall During Vote Counting Spoilt Ballot Papers not Properly Preserved For Review Intimidation of Counting Officials & Observers Error or Omission In Computing or Completing Tally Sheets Unusually Many Rejected/Spoilt Ballot Papers Officials Tallying Wrong/Tampered Results Officials not Reporting Results At Prescribed Time Party Agent Irregularities Party agents fail to Agree On Disputed Ballot Papers Agents Failure to Sign Final Results From Ballot Agents Decline to Sign Tally Sheet & Decline to Give Reason Provisional Citizen Result
Polling Station Administration	Polling station logistical issues Polling Station Access Blocked Polling Station not Opened/Closed On Time / not Numbered Properly Design of Polling Station Compromising Secrecy of Ballot Polling Station not Adequately Lit Polling Station Closed Before Voting concluded Due to Violence Due to darkness Due to lack of material Missing/Inadequate Voting Materials Reports of absent or fewer-than-needed ballot boxes, ballots, stations, volunteers, etc. Ballot Box Irregularities Ballot Boxes not Sealed at Start of Voting Process Sealed Ballot Box Tampered With Non-Voting Materials Placed In Ballot Box Campaign material in polling station Any materials (flyers, banners, buttons, clothing, etc.) pertaining to the promotion of a certain candidate or party. BVR issues
Positive Events	Civilian Peace Efforts Citizen led initiatives to promote peace Everything Fine In previous election deployments we have received many reports from people telling us that things are going smoothly. Police Peace Efforts The police sometimes have community outreach events to promote peace and security during the polls.
Security Issues	Please describe as accurately as possible who was attacked, the physical location of the attack, and where known, the attackers. For an issue to be classified as a security issue, it must involve threats or acts that would damage property or persons. Abductions/kidnapping Including hostage taking. Bombings Including vehicle attacks. Violent Attacks Attacks without weapons (e.g., brawls), knives, or few small arms (e.g., one or two handguns) -- if you can, please differentiate between violent attacks and armed clashes. Armed clashes are more serious. Armed Clashes Attacks with multiple firearms, automatic weapons, or heavy weaponry (mortars, shelling, etc.) Riots Civil or political unrest explicitly characterized as riots, as well as behavior presented as tumultuous or mob-like. Includes looting, prison uprisings, crowds setting things on fire, general fighting with police (typically by protestors), lynch mob assemblies, ransacking, football riots, and stampedes. Vandalism and Physical Attacks on Property Sexual and Gender Based Violence Rape and other sexual assaults Demonstrations Including rallies and marches Eviction/Population displacement Dangerous Speech Threat of Violence Rumors Presence of a credible perceived threat: unverified reports of violence, corruption, intimidation, looting, etc. Something not personally witnessed, but widespread knowledge or notable 'hearsay.' Please specify source and context. Mobilisation towards violence Where concrete step have been taken and violence appears imminent. (If violence has already started, do *not* use this category. Ambush Presence of weapons Purchase of weapons
Voting Issues	Voter registration irregularities Register of voters missing Voters Names Missing From registry Voters Issued Invalid Ballot Papers Voter Integrity Irregularities Importation of voters Voter Impersonation Voter Intimidation Bribing of Voters Voters Voting More Than Once Voter Identification Kit not Working Voter Assistance irregularities Issues with proper identification Illiterate Voters not Assisted Unusually Many Assisted Voters/Voter Assister not Taking Oath of Secrecy Voting Irregularities Eligible Voters Turned Away/ not allowed to Vote Ineligible Voters Allowed to Vote Purchasing of Voters Cards
Staffing Issues	Absence or insufficient number of IEBC Officials/Staff At Polling Station Opening Absence or insufficient number of law enforcement officials at Polling Station Observers/Media Blocked From Entering Polling Station IEBC Officials not Acting In Accordance to Set Rules
Other	This is for posts that do not fit into any other survey. Note: Please feel free to flag posts that do not fit into a category with your co-leads in case we would like to add one immediately. We will audit 'Other’ posts to monitor where new surveys should added throughout this project.

Uchaguzi Categories

These are related to post status

Category	Sub Category	Description	Permissions
Verification			Submission Admin Verification team Viewing Publishing Team Leads Analysis and Research Public
	Verified	The post has been verified by observers on the ground, or can be corroborated by mainstream media and our trusted sources
	Unverified	The post has not been verified
Escalation			Submission Admin Team Leads Response partners Viewing Analysis and Research
	Needs escalation	The post requires action by response partners
	Escalated	The post has been forwarded to response partners for action
	Action taken	Action has been taken by response partners on the post
Geolocation			Submission Admins Media monitoring Structuring Geolocation Team Leads Publishing Viewing Analysis and Research
	Needs geolocation	The post needs to be geolocated
	Geolocated	The post has been geolocated
	Impossible to geolocate	There is no location information provided, or the content of the message references several (10+) locations over a wide area and cannot be pinpointed to one neighborhood, community, ward, etc
Translation			Submission Admins Media monitoring Structuring Translation Team Leads Publishing Viewing Analysis and Research
	Needs Translation	The post needs to be translated
	Translated	The post has been translated
Urgent		This posts requires immediate action	Submission Admin Team leads Viewing Team leads Analysis and Research Response partners
Media Stream Source			Submission Admin Media Monitoring Publishing Team Leads Viewing Verification Analysis and Research Partners
	Mainstream Media	Posts from mainstream media sources
	Facebook	Posts from facebook
	Twitter	Posts from twitter streams being monitored by MM team
	Video	Posts from video streaming services e.g youtube etc