Building Apps & Bots for Social Science Research

Chris Bail
Duke University

Part I: APPS

Weaknesses of Digital Trace Data:

 

Incomplete
Inaccessible
Non-Representative
Drifting
Algorithmic Confounding
Dirty
Sensitive

But What Are the Alternatives?

 

But What Are the Alternatives?

 

-Survey response rates are low

But What Are the Alternatives?

 

-Survey response rates are low

-Many of our most important questions require longitudinal/relational/qualitative data

But What Are the Alternatives?

 

-Survey response rates continue to drop

-Many of the most important questions require longitudinal/relational/qualitative data

-Digital trace data have a number of major advantages that conventional sources do not (big, always on, non-reactive)

Can We Have Our Cake and Eat It Too?

Apps Can Address Many Limitations

 

Incomplete
Inaccessible
Non-Representative
Drifting
Algorithmic Confounding
Dirty
Sensitive

Example: The Viralgorithm

Social Media Survey Apps (SMSAs)

 

Social Media Survey Apps (SMSAs)

 

A web or mobile-based tool built by a researcher in order to:

Social Media Survey Apps (SMSAs)

 

A web or mobile-based tool built by a researcher in order to:

a) collect public and/or private data produced by social media users from an API;

Social Media Survey Apps (SMSAs)

 

A web or mobile-based tool built by a researcher in order to:

a) collect public and/or private data produced by social media users from an API;

b) collect supplemental information from such users (e.g. demographics) using more conventional survey methods;

Social Media Survey Apps (SMSAs)

 

A web or mobile-based tool built by a researcher in order to:

a) collect public and/or private data produced by social media users from an API;

b) collect supplemental information from such users (e.g. demographics) using more conventional survey methods;

c) offer something back to the user as an incentive to share their data (e.g. analysis or financial incentives)

Social Media Survey Apps (SMSAs)

 

A web or mobile-based tool built by a researcher in order to:

a) collect public and/or private data produced by social media users from an API;

b) collect supplemental information from such users (e.g. demographics) using more conventional survey methods;

c) offer something back to the user as an incentive to share their data (e.g. analysis or financial incentives)

See: Bail 2015

Workflow of a Social Media Survey App

Workflow of the Viralgorithm

Response Rate

 

  1. Approximately 40% of all organizations contacted installed the app (across two fields)

Minimal Evidence of Selection

Examples

Challenges of Building Apps for Social Science Research

 

  1. Significant coding skills required (html, css, cloud-computing, reactive programming)

  2. Competitive environment for attention (apps are no longer “new”)

  3. Concerns about data sharing/privacy

  4. Compelling incentives are hard to identify- and particularly challenging for studies of sensitive topics. But financial incentives may be an important option going forward.

OK, but How Do I Build an App?

Shiny

Shiny is a (relatively) new tool that enables people to build, compile, and host interactive apps natively within RStudio

Example

Check out the R code here.

Anatomy of a Shiny App