In the summer of 2024, the Accelerator surveyed more than 100 researchers and professionals to gain a comprehensive understanding of the challenges they face studying the online information environment and to identify how tools, resources, and support could help. This survey builds on the Accelerator’s past efforts to determine the needs of the field and design impactful solutions.
The survey indicated a pressing need for improved research infrastructure. Almost 60% of respondents had abandoned a research project in the past year due to constraints around working with large-scale datasets on online human behavior.
Lack of access to data emerged as the most prominent constraint, followed by cost and opportunity cost. 75% of respondents had not applied to Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) or other platform-run data access programs, and more than 80% of respondents had not used a commercial tool to access data in the past year. Researchers noted that existing APIs are often inadequate or overly complicated, and many were not aware they could request data.
While working on research projects about online human behavior, the majority of respondents reported spending at least 20% of their time on tasks that initiatives like the Accelerator aim to support. These tasks include obtaining and pre-processing/cleaning data, ensuring compliance with IRB/ethics boards and other regulations, and building data infrastructure.
In terms of what types of resources would be helpful, the survey results highlighted: support overcoming difficulties related to platforms’ lack of compliance with the Digital Services Act; support navigating the legal procedures involved in gaining access to platform data; access to data collections on online human behavior that are aggregable, multi-platform, standardized, and representative; summaries of access options, including guides for available commercial tools; and resources around compliance and IRB processes.
Respondents were interested primarily in the platforms X/Twitter, TikTok, Google, and Meta, with regional differences showing European interest in Telegram and US interest in platforms like Reddit, LinkedIn, Weibo, and Wikipedia.
The full report of survey results provides additional detail about these and other findings. The survey is informing the Accelerator’s continued work to alleviate the significant barriers and time commitment faced by researchers, civil society professionals, and others who are building knowledge about the online information environment.