3.2 INFORMATION HANDLING TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES 3.2 INFORMATION HANDLING TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES The whole information flow consists of various processes, from information gathering to information dissemination. At the centre of all these there needs to be an efficient information recording and retrieval system. Such a system could be manual, but computerised systems such as HURIDOCS WinEvsys are now more widely used. In practice, mixed systems of paper document records combined with computerised indexing and retrieval systems are most common. Below are some of the processes in the information work of a human rights NGO, together with common information handling tools and techniques associated with each process. PROCESS TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES Fact-finding Survey, interview schedule or questionnaire, forensic techniques, other recording tools (camera, tape recorder, etc.) Evaluation of information gathered Reference materials about applicable norms Recording of information Standard formats, free text recording, database Storage of documents Filing, shelving and similar activities Retrieval of information Search techniques Analysis of accumulated information Statistical data analysis techniques Preparation of information materials Database (through generation of reports) Communication and exchange of information Standard formats 3.3 STANDARD FORMATS AND DATABASES To make it available for use and repeated re-use, information needs to be structured. Structuring information involves recording and organising it in a consistent manner. For this, standard formats are used. Definition A format is an empty form, consisting of fields, on which information can be recorded. The form can be on paper, or a layout on a word processor, or it can be an entry layout within a database program. Definition A field is the space in which a piece of information called a value is recorded. 23