RD&M – Research Data & Methods
The Research Data & Methods team conducts interdisciplinary research on and with new types of data, for example digital traces from social media. Drawing on this expertise, the team develops consulting and training materials for researchers at CAIS on topics related to research methods, data, tools, and open science.
Which methods are suitable for researching digitalization?
What ethical challenges arise when dealing with digital trace data?
How can digital research data be sustainably preserved?
Study design, data collection and analysis, as well as the publication of results and the archiving of research data are all part of the workflow of typical empirical research projects. The Research Data & Methods team creates and collects resources and provides services to support researchers at CAIS at each of these stages. Based on the needs of the researchers, the team compiles information on methods, data, and tools, provides consultations, and organizes training sessions. The team also conducts its own research in the field of digital data and methods.
read more
The members of the Research Data & Methods team use combinations of different methods in their own research and work not only with traditional data (e.g., from surveys or interviews) but also with novel types of data, such as network or trace data from online platforms (e.g., social media). The team also conducts research on meta-scientific topics, including theories and methods for handling digital behavioral data, open science, and the specific motivations, practices, and needs of researchers in the context of digitalization studies. The team has an interdisciplinary background in psychology, sociology, communication studies, and political science.
Prof. Dr. Johannes Breuer
Head of RD&M
johannes.breuer@cais-research.de
Contact the Team
Straight to …
News
Series of Guides “Navigating Research Data and Methods”
“Navigating Research Data and Methods” is a publication series that provides concise introductions and overviews of tools, methods, and other resources for digitalization research. The topics cover the different phases of the research data lifecycle: 1) data discovery, study planning, and design, 2) data collection, 3) data processing and analysis, and 4) publication, archiving, and sharing.
The series is also available on Zenodo: https://zenodo.org/communities/cais
Collecting Social Media Data
Tools for Obtaining Data from Social Media Platforms
Annika Deubel, Katrin Weller & Johannes Breuer
#DataAcquisition
Social media platforms provide an internet-based form of communication for users to have conversations, share information, and create web content. The vast amounts of data produced by the increasing integration of social media into people‘s daily lives is not only of interest to platform providers, but also to researchers in various scientific fields of digitalization research.
Overview:
Participatory Research Approaches and their Importance for Digital Transformation Research
Sarah Y. Akyürek & Josephine B. Schmitt
#DiscoverPlanDesign
Participatory research has emerged as an important approach to scientific inquiry, enabling the active involvement of those directly affected by research outcomes. This approach ensures that research processes and outcomes are closely aligned with the actual needs and experiences of participants, leading to greater practical relevance and ethical research practices.
Publications (Selection)
- Haim, M., Knöpfle, P., & Breuer, J. (2025). Contextual Changes, Credible Conclusions? A Direct and Conceptual Replication of Shen et al.’s (2019) Study on Online Image Credibility. Media Psychology, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2025.2595452
- Wähner, M. (2025). Die „guten Gründe“ politischer Partizipation im Internet: Ein Anreizmodell zur Teilnahme an Online-Konsultationsverfahren. Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-47441-6
- Wähner, M. (2025), Dark Web. In Nai, A., Grömping, M., & Wirz, D. (Eds). Elgar Encyclopedia of Political Communication. Edward Elgar Publishing.
- Wähner, M., Deubel, A., Breuer, J., & Weller, K. (2024). “Don’t research us”—How Mastodon instance rules connect to research ethics. Publizistik, 69(3), 357–380. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11616-024-00855-6
- Breuer, J., Weller, K., & Kinder-Kurlanda, K. (2023). The Role of Participants in Online Privacy Research: Ethical and Practical Consideration. In S. Trepte & P. K. Masur (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Privacy and Social Media (pp. 314–323). Routledge.
- Breuer, J., Kohne, J., & Mohseni, M. R. (2023). Using YouTube data for social science research. In J. Skopek (Ed.), Research Handbook on Digital Sociology (pp. 258–277). Edward Elgar.
Team
