AIO Data Collection Methods
The Australian Internet Observatory provides a range of ways to collect data and observe digital platforms including via APIs and data donation methods.
Data donation methods involve recruiting participants to contribute their data via Data Download Packages (DDPs) or screen capture applications while API-based approaches rely on the platforms to provide programmatic access
Our current toolkit features new methods that can be integrated into qualitative and quantitative research designs, making research more rigorous and data-driven.
Data donation methods
Data donation involves participants voluntarily agreeing to share their data with researchers. The need for this sort of approach is due to the lack of transparency and data sharing provided by large platforms and applications. The lack of transparency in how social media algorithms operate can make it very challenging for researchers to effectively track what is happening on digital platforms in real time.
There are two main approaches to data donation for digital platforms: Screen Capture and Data Download Packages (DDPS).
Screen capture
Screen capture enables researchers to observe what happens on respondents’ screens and learn more about individual experiences on social media platforms. Whether you are researching the content of news feeds or how people interact with different types of visual information, screen capture offers an opportunity to investigate how platforms structure content and deliver it based on personal preferences.
It is a powerful method that allows for working with individual participants. It captures the specific content on platforms, including but not limited to TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
Screen capture methods collect the content that appears on a participant’s screen during their normal use of social media applications, including advertisements, sponsored content, recommendation feeds, reels, and other visual content.
The method is particularly valuable for studying ephemeral and sequenced content — material that appears briefly and in a specific order determined by algorithms. This kind of content is invisible to APIs and web scrapers, as it exists only in the personalised feed of individual users.
Data Download Packages
A Data Download Package (DDP) is a personal data archive that a user can request and download from a digital platform. It contains a structured collection of the personal data that the platform holds about that user. DDPs include activity histories, content created or consumed, interaction records, settings, advertising data, and various forms of metadata.
DDPs provide researchers with access to data that is unavailable through any other channel. DDPs contain private activity records, historical data stretching back to account creation, and categories of data (such as advertising interactions and inferred interests) that platforms do not otherwise share and may not be visible from a screen or API.
Most major digital platforms now offer some form of data download however the scope, quality, and accessibility of DDPs vary considerably across platforms.
APIs & Archives
AIO also collaborates with partner institutions to give researchers access to additional APIs and web archives, expanding what’s available beyond AIO’s own tools. This includes platforms such as the AIReD dashboard, hosted at the University of Melbourne, which provides large-scale access to social media data and archived platform content.
Access to these partner resources will be provided through AIO, giving researchers a single point of entry to a growing network of data sources.
