Practical guide: tips for
producing reliable data in the
human rights field
Introduction
1
Communicate in a clear and explicit manner
2
Avoid ambiguity
2
Make sure your concepts are measurable
3
Work examples from the HR field
5
Concordance between variables and categories
7
Tips to use human rights standards for variables definition
Train your team
8
10
Introduction
How do we know if certain behaviors or facts should be labeled under specific categories in
our database? How do we decide whether labelling a violation as a physical aggression or
as torture? International standards and laws are useful instruments but sometimes they
are not enough, as reality is complex and ambiguous and makes us to doubt.
1