Tools to observe and understand the digital world
Collect, manage and analyse digital platform data
We help researchers collect, manage and analyse data from digital platforms; through data donation, browser tracking, mobile capture and APIs
The Digital Transformation Challenge
Digital platforms shape how Australians communicate, work and access information — but researchers still lack the access and tools to observe what's actually happening on them. The AIO builds that infrastructure: data collection and analysis tools that make platform research possible.
What we want to achieve
Digital Research Platform
A full research workflow platform — manage your project end-to-end, from participant recruitment through data collection and analysis.
Data Collection Tools
An integrated suite of data collection tools and methods — including data donation, download packages, mobile streaming capture, browser extensions, APIs and large language models
Data Governance and Management
Ethical and legal frameworks and guides for working with digital research methods and social data, including guidance for Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) applications.
Outreach and Training
Supporting research training and engagement through workshops, events, training and online resources.
AIO Resources for Researchers
The tools that power digital observation.
The AIO is developing frameworks to improve access to digital platform data without the need for deep technical knowledge and computational skills.
Our current toolkit features new methods that can be integrated into qualitative and quantitative research designs, making research more rigorous and data-driven.
Work with us
Whether you are a qualitative researcher exploring digital data for the first time or a computational social scientist looking for more data, we are here to support you from your initial idea to final analysis.
Participate
By sharing your data and participating in our research, you can help Australian researchers study these platforms. Your contribution helps us better understand how algorithms work, which kinds of advertisements target Australians, and how social media affects our society. The benefits of data donation extend to both researchers and participants. By participating in data donation research, you can also learn more about your digital footprint.
Learn more about the AIO
Information about the Australian Internet Observatory and the people behind it.
The AIO is a co-investment partnership with the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) through the HASS and Indigenous Research Data Commons (DOI: 10.3565/hjrp-b141). The ARDC is enabled by the Australian Government’s National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS).
