Researching for Democracy? Data Access and the Study of Online Platforms
| Author | Kate Dommett |
| Published date | 01 September 2020 |
| Date | 01 September 2020 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/2041905820958822 |
34POLITICAL INSIGHT•SEPTEMBER 2020
What impact does
misinformation have on
people who consume
it? How is data used
and sold in the online world? Do political
adverts change our minds? Are foreign actors
deliberately spreading disinformation to
undermine democracy? These questions are
critical to our understanding of the impact
of the internet on our society. And yet, whilst
seen to be important, academics’ ability to
provide answers is fundamentally hindered by
the issue of data access.
As researchers, it can be easy to take our
ability to study our interests for granted.
Whatever method we use, be it interviews,
surveys, ethnography, time diaries or
experimental research, it is often relatively
easy to generate data on our interests. When
it comes to the internet, however, it is often
far from simple for researchers to gain access,
gather data or conduct analyses. Whilst by
no means facing a unique challenge, data
availability has been an ongoing diculty for
those who research the internet.
With large, corporate platforms – such
as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Google,
Snapchat, TikTok and Reddit – dominating
the online world, access to information is
often highly curtailed. Far from being open
and transparent, information is often given at
the grace of private corporations, with access
dened on terms of their choosing. As a result,
it is exceedingly dicult to determine what
is happening online, meaning scholars can
often provide only partial or limited answers
to the questions above. As pressure grows
around the need to protect democracy from
problematic trends on the internet, there is
an urgent need for further research about the
online world. In this context, it is interesting
to note growing interest from policymakers
in the issue of researcher access, with specic
moves from within the UK Parliament and
Researching for
Democracy? Data
Access and the Study
of Online Platforms
Academics have played an important role in building our
understanding of what is happening online. But increasingly, social
media companies are denying researchers access to the data they
need. Kate Dommett assesses the prospe cts for change.
European Commission to improve data access
and online transparency.
Engaging with these debates, I draw on
my recent experience of working as a Special
Advisor for the House of Lords Committee
on Democracy and Digital Technology to
reect on current debates around data access
for researchers. Published in June 2020, the
report Digital Technology and the Resurrection
of Trust argues that ‘transparency of online
platforms is essential if democracy is to ourish’
and makes explicit recommendations for
greater researcher access. Reecting on the
experience of producing this report, I consider
what has been recommended, and whether
any change is likely to come about soon.
Studying the online world
Since the early days of the internet, researchers
in academia and beyond have played an
important role in building our understanding
of what is happening online. Originating from
dierent disciplines, an array of methods and
approaches have been used, many of which
have been aected by issues of data access.
Perhaps the biggest challenges have been
faced by those using computational methods.
Scholars in this tradition often gather large
Political Insight September 2020 BU.indd 34Political Insight September 2020 BU.indd 3404/08/2020 13:2804/08/2020 13:28
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