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Research Infrastructure for Data from Large Online Platforms

For social science research using data from large online platforms and investigating their impact on society

RIDLOP (Research Infrastructure for Data from Large Online Platforms) is an infrastructure project of GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences. As the first research infrastructure of its kind in Germany and Europe, RIDLOP acquires data from large online platforms, archives them with secure data access possibilities, and makes them available for secondary use by researchers. RIDLOP creates the foundation for robust research on the effects of online platforms on society, the economy, and democracy, and strengthens the capacity of policymakers and the public to respond to the digital transformation on robust scientific evidence.

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The Impact of Online Platforms on Our Society

Digitalization has permeated every aspect of life. Online platforms such as social media, search engines, online marketplaces, and AI chatbots influence how billions of people communicate, shop, interact with one another, and stay informed. As a result, online platforms have become central arenas for social, political, and economic activities.

However, academics lack the data to understand how this transformation is affecting our society. RIDLOP lays the groundwork to change this.

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Large Online Platforms

On online platforms, users leave digital traces: clicks, search queries, content, purchase decisions. These data open up research on topics such as democracy, social cohesion, health, the economy, and sustainability. Yet access has remained unsystematic, dependent on individual platforms, and limited to fragments of actual use.

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Data Acquisition

RIDLOP combines platform-centered and user-centered approaches to data acquisition through three complementary routes: data collected by researchers, data donations from platform users, and data provided by platforms. Each route covers different data types, collection methods, and legal frameworks. Together they form a comprehensive, quality-assured data portfolio.

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Data Archiving

RIDLOP provides robust data ingest procedures and a dedicated data access infrastructure. Online platform data are often sensitive, multimodal, and subject to varying legal conditions. RIDLOP builds on the GESIS Data Archive, which has archived research data for decades according to internationally recognized quality and security standards.

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Governance and Technology for Data Access

RIDLOP extends the established governance structures and technologies of GESIS for data archiving and access.

At RIDLOP’s core is the Trusted Research Environment, which operationalizes the internationally established Five Safes framework (Safe Data, Safe Projects, Safe People, Safe Settings, Safe Outputs) and combines governance with a Secure Processing Environment.

Researchers access the relevant platform data, assess their quality, and analyze them directly, without the data leaving the Trusted Research Environment.

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Impact of RIDLOP

RIDLOP builds the necessary infrastructure for producing robust evidence on key questions facing society, the economy, and democracy in the digital age. RIDLOP thereby strengthens not only research, but also the capacity of society and the state to understand the effects of online platforms and to respond to technological change with evidence-based measures.

Get in touch!

Whether you are a researcher, an infrastructure partner, a policy stakeholder, or a journalist: the RIDLOP team is happy to provide further information about the project, discuss collaboration opportunities or joint events, and show you how RIDLOP can support your work in the future.

Contact | About us