The Human Element of Investigations: (3) Managing Sources

This workshop is part of a four-module training plan addressing "the human element of investigations", namely the interaction between investigators / researchers and people who may become their sources of information. As the final module in the series, it provides an introduction to managing contacts for investigations, including how to develop, interact with and maintain safe and effective collaboration with human sources to enrich investigations.

Learning Activities

Opening (15 minutes)

Instructions

• Grab attention by posing a question or commenting on a relevant picture.
• Introduce yourself and the goals of the workshop.
• Optional: introduce the source of the workshop material (Tactical Tech)
• Inform participants of the workshop agenda.
• Suggest ground rules for the workshop. Ask participants whether they would like to modify your suggestions or suggest other rules. Ensure that everybody understands and agrees with the ground rules. Specific suggestions about setting ground rules are available in the Facilitator Guide: section on "Delivering the Workshops".
• Establish the dynamics for group work, explain if participants will need to work in the same teams during the interactive workshop activities.

Instructions

• Facilitate a quick round of participants’ introductions by asking them to answer a couple of questions (communicate something) about themselves, their work, their workshop expectations.

• Alternatively, you can pick an icebreaker exercise that encourages participants to get creative by drawing answers or ideas on an online whiteboard or, if off-line, stand up and perform some tasks or discuss in groups:

  • e.g. interview a fellow participant for 2 minutes to learn more about their work or their place of origin, etc.,
  • check the “Icebreakers” section in the ETI Facilitator’s Guide for inspiration.

Identifying and Managing Sources (1 hour and 25 minutes)

Tools / Materials

• Slides / flip-chart papers with questions and key points to remember.

Instructions

• Ask participants:

  • “Why is dealing with people important for the investigation?” and elicit a few answers.

• Comment on the answers, highlighting important points.

• Make the distinction between sources and interviewees. Key questions include:

  • How long will your relationship with that group or person last?
  • How long and how often will you talk to them related to your investigation(s)?
  • Will you be in touch when your investigation is over?
  • Will they be one-time interviewees or longer-term sources?

Tools / Materials

• “Activity Templates – The Human Element: Managing Sources”, section “Group Activity: Identifying potential sources & Reaching Out” (copies to fill out online or printed)
• Shared cloud folder and files / text edit platform (e.g. Framapad) for listing observations / alternatively, shared online whiteboards such as Miro or Mural (if online.)
• Slides / flip-chart papers with questions and key points to remember.
• Individual sheets of paper, sticky notes / post-its, pens (if offline.)

[15 minutes] Group task

• Divide participants into smaller groups of 3-5 members.

• Ask teams to assign a note-taker, time-keeper and presenter for the debriefing part (valid for each activity from here on); these roles should switch at times.

• Ask each group to do the following:

  1. Suggest an investigation / research topic and write it down.

  2. Identify short-term sources (interviewees) and long-term sources according to the previous explanation. Write down suggestions and answer the following questions:

     • What is the source’s role in the investigation?
     • What is their position relative to the investigation? (witness, accused, victim…)
     • What information, data or evidence verification can they provide?
     • Do you expect them to become long-term sources? Why yes/no?

• Ask groups to focus on longer-term sources in particular, for this exercise.

[10 minutes] Debriefing

• Ask a representative of each group to briefly present the group’s work, 1-2 minutes each.

• After each group’s presentation, ask the rest of the participants to answer the following questions:

  1. Can you think of other interviewees / short or long-term sources to be identified?
  2. What other distinctions can be made?

Tools / Materials

• “Activity Templates – The Human Element: Managing Sources”, section “Group Activity: Identifying potential sources & Reaching Out” (the green column “Reaching Out”)
• Slides / flip-chart papers with questions and key points to remember.
• Same as before

Instructions

[10 minutes] Group task

• Ask participants to return to their groups (same as before).

• Once the type of human sources have been identified, where can we find them?

• Following up on their previous work on investigation example(s), ask groups to discuss how they will reach out to the sources they have listed:

  • e.g., whether they require an activist with knowledge of the topic, a lawyer who knows a victim, trace possible witnesses on social media groups or other platforms, etc.

• Teams collect suggestions in the template provided or on a board / flip-chart (if offline) and will present findings in the following session.

[15 minutes] Debriefing and Discussion

• Check the groups’ notes or ask each team to present their ideas in 1 minute.

• Highlight ways of reaching out to sources:

  • Online and offline venues
  • Social media
  • Subscribing to newsletters
  • Attending conferences and meetings
  • Following blogs
  • Checking official websites
  • Contacting groups of specialists (some might be closed groups, consider how to get access)

• Ask participants how they would get in touch with sources in any of the above (listed) situations.

• Take note of the different ideas and raise concerns about security with the following questions:

  • Are any of those human resources under surveillance?
  • Are they likely to pose risks to the investigator? (e.g. sources affiliated with dangerous people may leak information about the investigator and their work.)
  • Did the group consider encrypted and safe communications?

• Introduce security considerations when reaching out to sources via the listed options.

  • Example: considerations when subscribing to or following social media accounts and activists’ blogs; risks when deciding to meet a source in their home town, etc.

RESOURCES - to consult when preparing the session and to share with participants for further reading:

• Toolkits and tutorials

  • Bellingcat’s social media research techniques and tutorials
  • Bellingcat’s Online Investigation Toolkit
  • Research clinic - a resource website with techniques, tools, and cases from by internet research specialist Paul Myers
  • Verification Handbook

• Social Media tools and forums

  • Twitter Advanced Search
  • Nitter It - allows you to get access to accounts that have you blocked and doesn’t require a Twitter account
  • WebMii – aggregates people profiles on social media, searchable by name
  • Social Searcher – social media profiles and online presence searchable by topic
  • Picuki – a tool to search Instagram content
  • Followerwonk – allows you to search Twitter biographies and find mutual followers of different accounts, very helpful to identify possible connections and identify risks.
  • LinkedIn – valuable resource to find people connected to companies and other institutions and organizations you might be interested in. (Use 'Private Mode' to make sure your searches and page views are not disclosed)
  • Glassdoor – a platform hosting forums and reviews of companies by current and former staff, helpful to get an idea of possible sources to contact in companies.

Tools / Materials

• “Activity Templates – The Human Element: Managing Sources”, section “Group Activity: A database of sources”
• Shared cloud folder and files or a text / table editing platform (e.g. Framapad for text / Framacalc for tables) / alternatively, shared online whiteboards such as Miro or Mural (if online.)
• Slides / flip-chart papers with questions and key points to remember.
• Individual sheets of paper, sticky notes / post-its, pens (if offline.)

Instructions

[15 minutes] Group task

• Participants return to their groups.

• Ask groups to take the sources they have identified and order them meaningfully.

• They can create sheets with the information they think they need to consider and gather about the source.

  • They can use the templates provided or make their own.

[10 minutes] Debriefing

• Ask teams to present their input and contact sheets, 1 minute per team

• Highlight diverse ways to organize information meaningfully:

  • Topic-specific contact list of environmentalists, lawyers, political activists, human rights researchers, officials, etc.
  • Names and occupations
  • Organizations
  • Locations by countries

• Highlight the value of cross-referencing data gathered about and from sources and ways to preserve and update lists of sources as an investigation progresses as well as beyond the investigation.

Tools / Materials

• Slides / flip-chart papers for presentation, prepared in advance.

Instructions

Prepare and give a short presentation to remind about:

• Safety recommendations for storage devices

• Encrypted communications

• Anonymizing / codifying identities of sources to avoid exposure, and protection of contacts for sensitive sources and those at risk.

RESOURCES - when preparing this presentation, use recommendations and examples from:

• “Safety First!” guide in Exposing the Invisible: The Kit.
• “How to Manage Your Sources” guide / section “Protecting Sources”, Exposing the Invisible: the Kit
• “Interviews: the Human Element of Your Investigation”: all the “Safety First!” sections, Exposing the Invisible: The Kit.

Approaching Human Sources (1 hour and 5 minutes)

Tools / Materials

• “Activity Templates – The Human Element: Managing Sources”, section “Group Activity: Identify threats and assess risks”
• Slides / flip-chart papers with questions and key points to remember.
• Shared files / sheets, same as before.

Instructions

• Briefly summarize previous activities referring to the investigation and human sources identified and invite participants to reflect on potential risks.

• Encourage participants to realize the threats they might face related to research methods, devices, communications, and information storage.

• Emphasize the distinction between “threat” and “risk” – you can add this on a slide or board and leave it visible for participants during the next activities:

  • a threat relates to a perceived vulnerability in a sector of work/life (be it digital or physical)
  • a risk is the chance that a threat actually happens, e.g. someone takes advantage of your vulnerability
  • anticipating threats is part of the process of risk assessment.

[10 minutes] Group task 1

• Ask participants to return to their groups.

• Ask each group to discuss the following question and list their findings:

  • “What sorts of risks may be implied when interviewing and maintaining long-term connections with sources for this and other investigations?”

• Encourage participants to identify physical and digital risks as well as how they are interconnected** and how they may evolve over time.

[5 minutes] Debriefing

• Ask one or two groups to share their findings, 1 minute each.

• Comment on their ideas and emphasize potential risks, such as:

  • Interception of communications
  • Access by police, adversarial sources to our computer
  • Exposure of confidential and vulnerable sources

[10 minutes] Group task 2

• Participants return to their groups.

• Based on the risks identified, ask groups to brainstorm how to mitigate risks considering the following factors:

  • Order information is collected
  • Disclosing confidential or sensitive information
  • Inherited risk like working with someone who is at risk and can transfer that risk to the investigator / interviewer.

[10 minutes] Debriefing

• When the time is up, ask one or two groups (or all, time pending) to share their findings, 1 minute each.

• Share references and recommendations of how to address, prevent, and mitigate risks identified by the group.

• Emphasize the need for continuous risk assessment and safety awareness because events are uncontrollable and people are unpredictable.

RESOURCES:

• Use tips and resources from the “Safety First Guide” and the “Safety First Workshop” to plan discussions and provide further advice.

Tools / Materials

• Slides / flip-chart papers with questions and key points to remember / brief presentation.

Instructions

[5 minutes] Discussion

• Emphasize that building trust and establishing and maintaining boundaries is essential when dealing with long-term sources.

• In the plenary group/room, ask participants to share their thoughts on this question:

  • “How do you nurture your professional relationships?”

[5 minutes] Presentation

• Prepare and give a short presentation about key practices when building a longer-term professional connection with sources:

  • Keep contact with the “rule of the three calls” and check-ins for non-research purposes,
  • Plan informal meetings
  • Invite sources to work-related events they might be interested in. Consider if being seen with a particular source might pose a risk (as per previous risk assessment).
  • Give and receive trust to protect yourself and your sources. Sharing previous work may be helpful in order to gain the trust of your sources.

[5 minutes] Discussion

• Ask participants to share and discuss experiences or guess potential challenges that may occur.

[5 minutes] Presentation

• Briefly present and emphasize problems such as:

  • Mutual trust disappears
  • Sources step into the personal realm
  • Power balance
  • Blackmailing (emotional or other)

[10 minutes] Group discussion

• Ask participants to return to their small groups (same as before) and to discuss and propose ways to mitigate challenges in their relationships with sources.

• They can use the template provided and write them in two columns:

  • Problems
  • Mitigation/Solutions

[5 minutes] Debriefing

• Back in the plenary room/group, ask a few volunteers to share their group’s problems and solutions

• Wrap up by commenting on their findings and mentioning a set of healthy practices such as:

  • to mitigate eventual unwanted advances from a source, use a work phone versus a personal phone or bring a colleague to meetings, etc.

RESOURCE:

• “How to Manage Your Sources”, Exposing the Invisible: the Kit

Closure (10 minutes)

Tools/Materials

• Shared drawing pad / slide / whiteboard (online)
• Whiteboard / flip-chart paper, post-its, markers (offline)

Instructions

• Ask participants to create a takeaway poster by sharing their answers to the following question in the shared whiteboard / drawing board:

  • What are your main takeaways from today's workshop?

• Give participants a few minutes to write and/or draw their thoughts and read the thoughts of others.

Debriefing

• Review and highlight some of the points on the shared board.

Instructions

• Wrap up the workshop and sum up its contents. Mention if this workshop will be continued by other sessions from the “Human Element” series (e.g. “The Human Element: Identifying and Reaching Out to Sources Safely” and/or “The Human Element: Conducting Interviews”).

• Run a quick review of the session to gather quick reactions. Each participants would say:

  • one thing they found very good about the session and
  • one thing they would improve for the next time

• Encourage participants to ask questions or give some final tips.

• Share contact information if relevant, and any follow-up details.

Further Resources

To use when preparing and to share with participants after the workshop

On the topic:

• “Interviews: the Human Element of Your Investigation"”, guide from Exposing the Invisible: the Kit.
• “How to Manage Your Sources", Exposing the Invisible: the Kit.

Other related resources:

• "Away From Your Screen, Out in the Field", Exposing the Invisible: the Kit.
• "Safety First!", Exposing the Invisible: the Kit. 
• "Digital Security when Working with Other People’s Data", Exposing the Invisible: the Kit.

• "Developing and Cultivating Sources" (archived copy from Wayback Machine available here), from the International Journalists Network.
• "Ethical Ground Rules for Handling Sources" (archived copy from Wayback Machine available here), from the Ethical Journalism Network.
• "How can journalists better approach sources around breaking news stories?" (archived copy from Wayback Machine available here), from First Draft News.
• "Protection of Journalistic Sources" (archived copy from Wayback Machine available here), from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
• "Proof of Life and Other Templates", Risk Assessment notes, and Putting Together a Proof of Life Document (archived copy from Wayback Machine available here), from Rory Peck Trust.
• "Resources: Guides to Finding Expert Sources" (archived copy from Wayback Machine available here), from the Global Investigative Journalism Network.
• "Sources of Information" (archived copy from Wayback Machine available here), from The News Manual online.
• "5 Tips for journalists who want to do a better job of cultivating sources" (archived copy from Wayback Machine available here), from Poynter.org.

Contact Us

Please reach out to us at Exposing the Invisible if you:

• have any questions about this workshop plan and facilitation guidelines,
• use this workshop plan and want to share feedback and suggestions that can help to improve them,
• adapt the workshop plan to a specific context and want to share the results with us,
• want to suggest new activities, tips or examples that can be added to this workshop,
• want to share your expertise and collaborate with us on developing and testing new workshops.

Contact: eti@tacticaltech.org (GPG Key / fingerprint: BD30 C622 D030 FCF1 38EC C26D DD04 627E 1411 0C02).

Credits and Licensing

CC BY-SA 4.0

This content is produced by Tactical Tech's Exposing the Invisible project, and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license

• Workshop author: Nuria Tesón
• Instructional design: A. Hayder
• Editorial and content: Christy Lange, Laura Ranca
• Graphic design: Yiorgos Bagakis
• Website development: Laurent Dellere, Saqib Sohail
• Project coordination and supervision: Christy Lange, Laura Ranca, Lieke Ploeger, Marek Tuszynski, Safa Ghnaim, Wael Eskandar

This resource has been developed as part of the Collaborative and Investigative Journalism Initiative (CIJI) co-funded by the European Commission under the Pilot Project: "Supporting investigative journalism and media freedom in the EU" (DG CONNECT).

This text reflects the author’s view and the Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.