The [him] moderator has received this request and hopes that activist readers will respond. Feel free to forward it to anyone you think may be interested.

[him] moderator

******************************

My name is Elliott Prasse-Freeman, and I’m part of the research team at Harvard Kennedy School’s Carr Center for Human Rights Policy (www.hks.harvard.edu/cchrp/) conducting research on Burma’s human rights/democracy activist movement. I have myself worked on Burma for seven years – both inside and in Thailand. For this project, our team is particularly interested in exploring why ‘transnational activists’ (both Burmese citizens and foreigners) choose to work in this field, when they could choose other causes or career opportunities. We are using a broad definition of ‘activist’ for this study: those who consider themselves, are considered, or, importantly, at one point considered themselves Burma activists, or if not activists per se, those who are otherwise involved in Burma issues and affairs. We are still developing and pilot-testing the survey, but would like to invite you to participate in the survey and also to help us to recruit subjects.
 
Given this broad definition of ‘activist’, and the multiple dynamics of the various organizations working on different dimensions of Burma/Myanmar issues, we are therefore seeking to develop a broad sample for the research. However, because of the sensitivity/vulnerability of people on the inside of Burma, we are not seeking to survey those who might be put in any sort of danger due to the survey. This will be a clear limitation of the survey  but we are trying to do the best to identify as large of a sample as possible given the difficult conditions. We are seeking to construct a relatively representative sample for this survey while respecting the anonymity and confidentiality of our subjects. Therefore, we are using methodologies outlined in the Respondent-Driven Sampling technique http://www.respondentdrivensampling.org/ – wherein recruited subjects refer others. However, please do not forward to those inside the country or who are otherwise in sensitive situations - we can’t risk endangering anyone and we will not be able to use their data.
 
-         The written online survey, which will take between 30 and 60 minutes, will be anonymous, fully voluntary, and confidential, as per the conditions of Harvard University's Human Subjects Internal Review Board. What this means is that we will only ask for a working email address (to prevent fraud and so that we can send you the eventual results of the survey project, should you wish to receive them).
 
-         The survey will be distributed online (on the website SurveyMonkey), and you can take the survey at your own speed (meaning you can return to it at your leisure if you do not finish in one sitting). In addition, in some cases we can accommodate phone interviews if you prefer (please contact our research team), or you can send in a written survey by mail.
 
-         The survey will be done in English and primarily on the Internet, which are two clear biases (while we feel that the Burma movement is particularly English-based and Internet savvy, we also recognize this is certainly not ideal for everyone). If there is significant feedback from the subject-recruitment process that many subjects would prefer to take the survey in Burmese, we can accommodate that.
 
-         The survey is not seeking to unearth and broadcast particular strategies of movement organizations.
 
-         Results of the survey may be used in the publication of an academic journal article about transnational activism, and as part of a longer on-going research project at the Carr Center studying the way that social movements operate.
 
 
If you are willing to take part in the survey and share your experiences, please email me at prasse@post.harvard.edu. Please also forward this to others who potentially would be interested in completing the survey.
 
Thanks and regards,
 
Elliott Prasse-Freeman
Associate Fellow
Carr Center for Human Rights Policy
Harvard Kennedy School
79 JFK Street, Box # 14
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
prasse@post.harvard.edu - ph: 001.917.520.7983