Building digital platform observatories
The need for digital observatories emerges from the limits of existing approaches to digital platform research and accountability which tend to emphasise transparency over the creation of “conditions for the practice of observing” (Rieder & Hoffman, 2020, p. 3). If observability is not only about converting the invisible into the visible, then an observatory is more than research tools or methods. In astrophysics, observatories are known to play a crucial role in advancing research in that they “organize and mobilize a range of multidisciplinary skills for achieving a coherent and sustainable capability” (Illingworth, 2017, p. 1). The potential of the observatory is no different for humanities and social science researchers. In fact, this potential can be greatly exceeded by establishing the observatory as a public institution that enables everyday practices of observability among the public; frameworks of governance and regulation; and the production of trustworthy observations by researchers.
This workshop brings together researchers who have been developing major research infrastructure initiatives to make digital platforms and their automated models more open to public observation and accountability.
Program*
Time | Session |
|---|---|
9:00am | Welcome |
9:30am | Session 1: Why build digital observatories? Liz McFall, Edinburgh: What is a Data Civics Observatory good for? James Smithies, ANU: Enabling the Design of National Infrastructures for Humanities & Social Science Research |
10:45am | Morning tea |
11:00am | Nic Carah and Julian Thomas: Building the Australian Internet Observatory Daniel Angus, QUT: Improvising Observability: Tools and Tactics for Hard-to-Access Platform Data Kellie Vella, UQ: How HASS researchers are studying digital platforms |
12:30pm | Lunch |
1:30pm | Session 2: Experiences building digital observatories Lauren Hayden and Michael Esteban, UQ: Intimate but Inexact: Participatory Data Donation in Practice Laura Vodden, QUT: The shifting frontier of data access: From APIs to clean rooms, and the impact on platform observability Christine Parker and Giselle Newton: Australian Ad Observatory |
3:30pm | Afternoon tea |
3:45pm | Session 3: Building an international array of observatories Facilitated discussion on building observatories as institutions and as an international array led by Nic Carah and Dan Angus. |
| 4:45pm | Event concludes |
* Program subject to change
This event is hosted by The Centre for Digital Cultures and Societies (DCS) in partnership with the Australian Internet Observatory (AIO). The AIO is a co-investment partnership with the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) through the HASS and Indigenous Research Data Commons (DOI: 10.3565/hjrp-b141). The ARDC is enabled by the Australian Government’s National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS).
