METHODOLOGY

M

ichael Noel Phoya, a trained journalist
and media manager from Malawi was
commissioned to design a survey tool to
help MISA properly framing the issue of
Freedom of Expression in Cyberspace. According to
the brief, key themes to consider were privacy, communications surveillance, mobile technology and
digital security. In the end, a 23-question electronic
survey was designed.
MISA distributed the link to the online survey via the
MISA global mailing list, Twitter, Facebook and direct
emails to prospective respondents.
Of the 90 respondents who started the study, 72 %
finished. These findings are based on those who finished.
Thirty-five per cent of the respondents classified
themselves in the category of media activists, 26%
as mainstream journalists, 27% as citizen journalists/bloggers, and 23% as ‘Other’.

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Categories of respondents

The study primarily focused on southern Africa residents. Twenty-two per cent of respondents were
from Malawi, followed by Namibia at 17%, Zimbabwe and Botswana at 16% each, Zambia at 7%,
South Africa at 6%, Swaziland at 3%, Lesotho and
Tanzania at 1% each, the UK and Americas at 4%,
while 7% of respondents chose not to indicate their
country of origin.

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