Data donations – a user-centric approach to collect digital trace data

Forfattere

  • Lion Wedel The Weizenbaum Institute

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7146/journalistica.v20i1.171305

Nøgleord:

data donations, data download packages, digital trace data, screenshots

Resumé

Journalistica: The Methods Section

In this section, Journalistica puts a spotlight on research methods used in journalism studies and/or journalism practice.

Referencer

Asensio, M., Bosch, O. J., & Roberts, C. (2026). What is the best way of collecting data donations? An experiment assessing the feasibility of different data donation approaches to measure mobile and app usage. Information, Communication & Society, 29(4), 1229–1254. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2025.2570738

Bechmann, A., Kroman Brems, M., Olesen, M. K., Walter, J. G., & Wegmann, D. (2025). Data donation as a method for investigating trends and challenges in digital media landscapes at national scale: The Danish population’s use of YouTube as an illustrative case. Nordicom, University of Gothenburg. https://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:norden:org:diva-13593

Boeschoten, L., Ausloos, J., Möller, J. E., Araujo, T., & Oberski, D. L. (2022). A framework for privacy preserving digital trace data collection through data donation. Computational Communication Research, 4(2), 388–423. https://doi.org/10.5117/CCR2022.2.002.BOES

Boeschoten, L., Schipper, N. C. de, Mendrik, A. M., Veen, E. van der, Struminskaya, B., Janssen, H., & Araujo, T. (2023). Port: A software tool for digital data donation. Journal of Open Source Software, 8(90), 5596. https://doi.org/10.21105/joss.05596

Carrière, T. C., Boeschoten, L., Struminskaya, B., Janssen, H. L., De Schipper, N. C., & Araujo, T. (2025). Best practices for studies using digital data donation. Quality & Quantity, 59(S1), 389–412. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-024-01983-x

Chouaki, S., Chakraborty, A., Goga, O., & Zannettou, S. (2024). What News Do People Get on Social Media? Analyzing Exposure and Consumption of News through Data Donations. Proceedings of the ACM Web Conference 2024, 2371–2382. https://doi.org/10.1145/3589334.3645399

de León, E., Boeschoten, L., Votta, F., Mulder, J., Struminskaya, B., Oberski, D., Araujo, T., & de Vreese, C. (2026). How Much Data Should I Request? Balancing Richness and Compliance in Digital Trace Data Donations. Social Science Computer Review, 08944393261435088. https://doi.org/10.1177/08944393261435088

de León, E., Votta, F., Jongerius, S., Mulder, J., Struminskaya, B., Araujo, T., & de Vreese, C. (2025). Can tailored recruitment messaging increase digital trace data donation compliance? International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 0(0), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2025.2568497

Fan, Y., Ohme, J., & Neuberger, C. (2025). Digital Turn Without Digital Methods? Mapping the Journey of Journalism Studies. Digital Journalism, 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2025.2480106

Gajardo, C., Kalogeropoulos, A., Rossini, P., Mont’Alverne, C., & Nicholls, T. (2026). Evaluating the potential and limits of trace-based interviews when studying news use. Information, Communication & Society, 0(0), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2026.2652514

Groot Kormelink, T., Houwing, F., Struminskaya, B., Boeschoten, L., de Schipper, N., & Welbers, K. (2025). Meaningful informed consent? How participants experience and understand data donation. Information, Communication & Society, 0(0), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2025.2540915

Hase, V., Ausloos, J., Boeschoten, L., Pfiffner, N., Janssen, H., Araujo, T., Carrière, T., Vreese, C. de, Haßler, J., Loecherbach, F., Kmetty, Z., Möller, J., Ohme, J., Schmidbauer, E., Struminskaya, B., Trilling, D., Welbers, K., & Haim, M. (2024). Fulfilling data access obligations: How could (and should) platforms facilitate data donation studies? Internet Policy Review, 13(3). https://policyreview.info/articles/analysis/fulfilling-data-access-obligations

Kiddle, R., Kroon, A., Welbers, K., & Trilling, D. (2026). Do news access pathways moderate filter bubbles? Evidence from a longitudinal analysis of data donations. New Media & Society, 14614448261445423. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448261445423

Kruschinski, S., Zens, M., & Stier, S. (2026). What is Data Donation? (GESIS Guides to Digital Behavioral Data, 29). GESIS - Leibniz-Institute for the Social Sciences. https://doi.org/10.60762/GGDBD26029.1.0

Loecherbach, F., Moeller, J., Trilling, D., & van Atteveldt, W. (2024). What is news? Mapping the diversity of news experiences in digital trace data. Journalism, 14648849241303115. https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849241303115

Mayer, A.-T., Wedel, L., Ohme, J., & Neuberger, C. (2026). Liking, Commenting, Sharing: Journalistic Intermediation Practices on Digital Platforms. Journalism Studies, 0(0), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2026.2668385

Ohme, J., Araujo, T., Boeschoten, L., Freelon, D., Ram, N., Reeves, B., & Robinson, T. N. (2024). Digital Trace Data Collection for Social Media Effects Research: APIs, Data Donation, and (Screen) Tracking. 18, 124–141. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/19312458.2023.2181319

Ohme, J., Araujo, T., Vreese, C. H., & Piotrowski, J. T. (2021). Mobile data donations: Assessing self-report accuracy and sample biases with the iOS Screen Time function. Mobile Media & Communication, 9(2), 293–313. https://doi.org/10.1177/2050157920959106

Otto, L. P., Loecherbach, F., & Vliegenthart, R. (2024). Linkage Analysis Revised – Linking Digital Traces and Survey Data. Communication Methods and Measures, 18(2), 186–204. https://doi.org/10.1080/19312458.2023.2257595

Pfiffner, N., Witlox, P., & Friemel, T. N. (2024). Data Donation Module: A Web Application for Collecting and Enriching Data Donations. Computational Communication Research, 6(2), 1. https://doi.org/10.5117/CCR2024.2.4.PFIF

Schnurr, D., Hartl, P., Manzke, L., Schmidbauer, E., Haßler, J., & Tiefenbeck, V. (2026). Data Donations: Data Disclosure for the Common Good. Business & Information Systems Engineering. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12599-026-00989-z

Toth, R., Parry, D., & Emmer, M. (2025). From Screen Time to Daily Rhythms: A Mixed Methods Study of Smartphone Use Among German Adults. Journal of Quantitative Description: Digital Media, 5. https://doi.org/10.51685/jqd.2025.019

Wedel, L., & Ohme, J. (2026). Longitudinal Data Donation Behavior and Data Omission across Four Social Media Platforms. Computational Communication Research, 8(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.5117/CCR2026.1.3.WEDE

Wedel, L., Ohme, J., & Araujo, T. (2024). Augmenting Data Download Packages – Integrating Data Donations, Video Metadata, and the Multimodal Nature of Audio-visual Content. Methods, Data, Analyses, 19(2), 11–45. https://doi.org/10.12758/mda.2024.08

Wedel, L., Ohme, J., Mayer, A.-T., Gaisbauer, F., & Fan, Y. (2026). The platform matters: Cross-platform differences in data donation willingness, behavior, and bias. Communication Methods and Measures, 20(1), 53–77. https://doi.org/10.1080/19312458.2025.2605946

Xiong, Y., van der Wal, A., & Beyens, I. (2025). Improving Participation in Data Donation Studies: A Systematic Review of Factors Driving Participation and Evidence-Informed Best Practices. Social Science Computer Review, 08944393251395958. https://doi.org/10.1177/08944393251395958

Front cover of a Danish academic journal. White background with red on logo on top reading: Journalistica. And just below the logo a black thick black line or narrow black box running across the page with white text reading: ‘Nr. 1 · 2026 – Tidsskrift for forskning i journalistik’. In the middle of the front page the year 2026 is also printed with big characters. Minimalist design, no images or graphics.

Downloads

Publiceret

2026-09-04

Citation/Eksport

Wedel, L. (2026). Data donations – a user-centric approach to collect digital trace data. Journalistica, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.7146/journalistica.v20i1.171305

Nummer

Årg. 20 Nr. 1 (2026): Journalistica 2026

Sektion

Methods Section

Licens

Copyright (c) 2026 Lion Wedel

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