Digital behavioural data (DBD) is transforming the way researchers observe and understand social developments. Since 2013, CESSDA’s German Service Provider GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences has been at the forefront of integrating this emerging data source into social science research. What began as an exploratory effort has, since 2022, become one of GESIS’s major pillars, alongside its long-standing experience and services for survey data.

DBD refers to digital traces of human and algorithmic behaviour recorded by online platforms such as Google or Facebook, or by sensors like smartphones, RFID chips, and satellites. While these data offer unique insights into contemporary society, they also pose substantial methodological and ethical challenges. GESIS is dedicated to building the reliable infrastructures and methodological expertise needed to meet these challenges. 

“As online platforms become ever more embedded in daily life, digital behavioral data are gaining importance for studying societal dynamics. To meet this growing demand, GESIS is expanding its activities to provide high-quality DBD and computational methods, with a particular focus on reproducibility,” said Sebastian Stier, director of the department Computational Social Science, pictured on the right.
 

Through its expanding range of services, GESIS enables researchers to collect, process, and analyse DBD according to the high standards of the social sciences. Among these services are: 

• GESIS Panel.dbd: a platform where researchers can submit studies through regular calls. 

• GESIS AppKit: an app that facilitates high-quality survey data collection via smartphones. 

• GESIS Web Data: a service providing access to data collected from large social media platforms. 

• GESIS Methods Hub: a community portal offering tools, tutorials, and open-source computational methods for analysing complex data. 

To all topics, GESIS provides consulting, training, and research in computational social science to ensure that high-quality digital behavioural data becomes a sustainable resource for empirical research. Further developments are underway to increase research and services. 

A Broader Commitment to Data Quality 

The work on DBD complements GESIS’s broader mission to provide reliable data for excellent research. Together with the University of Mannheim and LMU Munich, GESIS has established the Competence Center Data Quality in the Social Sciences (KODAQS), which advances the understanding of data quality through training, tools such as the Data Quality Toolbox, and events like DataFests, and the Guest Researcher program. 

Who is GESIS? 

Prof. Dr. Beatrice Rammstedt and Prof Dr. Christof Wolf, Executive Board
Vice President and President of GESIS at the ESRA Conference,
presenting the many services GESIS offers. 

GESIS is one of the world’s leading infrastructure institutions for the social sciences. From study planning and data collection to data processing, analysis, and archiving, GESIS supports researchers at all stages of their projects. Their motto, “Reliable data for excellent research, for a better understanding of our society,” reflects the commitment to advancing open, transparent, and high-quality social science. 

As a member of the Leibniz Association and consortium leader of KonsortSWD within Germany’s National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI), GESIS collaborates with partners across Europe and beyond. They play a central role in international initiatives such as the European Social Survey (ESS), European Values Study (EVS), and the OECD’s Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). 

Research-Based Services 

GESIS provides research-based services across the entire data cycle: 

• Planning and Collection: Support in sampling, questionnaire design, and data gathering. 

• Processing and Analysis: Services in weighting, harmonization, and analysis of complex or sensitive data, including official microdata and digital behavioural data. 

• Archiving and Sharing: Long-standing experience in preserving and making data accessible according to FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) standards. 
   

GESIS also offers consulting, guides, and training to strengthen methodological competence in empirical social research for both young and established scholars. 

Director Sebastian Stier presenting on GESIS services on Digital Beavooral Data. 

Want to find out more about GESIS? Check out these resources: 

Data Services: https://www.gesis.org/en/data-services 

Finding and Accessing Data at GESIS: https://www.gesis.org/en/services/finding-and-accessing-data 

Digital Behavioral Data at GESIS: https://www.gesis.org/en/institute/about-us/digital-behavioral-data 

GESIS Guides: https://www.gesis.org/en/gesis-guides 

GESIS Training: https://www.gesis.org/en/gesis-training 

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