Linking Twitter & Survey Data [online workshop]

Twitter has become an important data source for many social scientists. While using data from Twitter can help to avoid or alleviate some of the issues related to self-report data, such as social desirability or problems with recollection, Twitter data have their own sets of limitations, including the lack of information about individuals or missing outcome variables of interest. Linking data from surveys and Twitter is a way to combine the unique strengths of the two data types and overcome some of their respective limitations. The online workshop led by Luke Sloan (Cardiff University), Johannes Breuer (GESIS), and Libby Bishop (GESIS) covered the key steps in the research process of linking Twitter and survey data. Specifically, the workshop addressed the phases of study planning, (Twitter) data collection, data processing, and archiving and sharing. The workshop drew on recent experiences from different studies that the instructors were involved in and provided guidance on how to address the ethical and operational issues associated with linking Twitter and survey data in the different phases of the research process.

The video is also available for viewing on YouTube.