Projects

The National Internet Observatory (the NIO) invites residents of the United States to participate in a scientific study to understand the role the Internet plays in modern society. The objective of the Observatory is to shed light on people’s experiences online.The Observatory works in a two step process: (1) Collecting data from participants on their online experiences. This involves loading software on computers that sends information back to the Observatory. (2) Providing privacy-preserving access to researchers to study the Internet.The NIO welcomes participants from all backgrounds. Researchers will use these data to understand how the Internet affects individuals and society more generally.

The Civic Health and Institutions Project, a 50 States Survey (CHIP50)  was launched in by a multi-university group of researchers with expertise in computational social science, network science, public opinion polling, epidemiology, public health, communication, and political science.CHIP50 provides access to state-level data on citizens’ opinions and behaviors for social scientists and health researchers. This initiative leverages and transforms the COVID States Project, which has collected large-scale survey data since April 2020.

The Internet Democracy Initiative studies problems that have widespread information and social media implications. This initiative provides leadership in understanding the role of the internet in structuring democracy, society, and markets.

The 50-state COVID-19 project was launched in March 2020 by a multi-university group of researchers with expertise in computational social science, network science, public opinion polling, epidemiology, public health, communication, and political science. We aim to help practitioners and governments to make informed decisions and allocate resources more effectively. Our research seeks to identify links between social behaviors and virus transmission, as well as and the impact of messaging and regulation on individual and community outcomes during this crisis. We are sharing our data and insights directly with collaborators and decision-makers, as well as making our findings public online.