Data donation is emerging as a new tool for survey research. This webinar discusses its potential, limitations, and implementation.
presenters: Prof. Dr Florian Keusch (University of Mannheim) & Dr Sebastian Prechsl (IAB);
discussant: Dr Caroline Roberts (University of Lausanne);
moderator: Dr Rebecca Scheffauer
About the event:
How can digital trace data be integrated into large-scale survey infrastructures? The project
“Integrating Data Donation in Survey Infrastructure: Quantifying, Explaining, and Addressing Errors in Representation & Measurement” explores the potential of data donation as a novel approach to collecting behavioural data for social research. By leveraging GDPR provisions that allow users to download their platform data (e.g., from LinkedIn or Instagram), privacy-preserving longitudinal measures can be incorporated into survey research. This webinar introduces the data donation approach, discusses key challenges in integrating donated data into panel studies, and highlights future directions for research.
Why attend?
We invite researchers who want to learn about a new method for collecting digital traces in a survey context and engage in networking opportunities about data collection infrastructures.
About the presenters:
Prof. Dr. Florian Keusch is Professor of Social Data Science and Methodology in the Sociology Department, School of Social Sciences at the University of Mannheim and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Joint Program in Survey Methodology (JPSM) at the University of Maryland. He also serves on the Faculty Board of the International Program in Survey and Data Science (IPSDS) and is Associate Editor of Survey Research Methods. He received his PhD in Social and Economic Sciences (Dr.rer.soc.oec.) from WU, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria, in 2011. Before joining the University of Mannheim, he was a Post-doc Research Fellow at the Program in Survey Methodology at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research.
Dr. Sebastian Prechsl studied sociology with a minor in economics at Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, where he also completed his PhD in 2022. He joined the research department “Panel Study Labor Market and Social Security” in January 2025. As a postdoctoral researcher at the Data Science and AI Lab (SODA) at LMU Munich and the Institute for Employment Research, he is part of the DFG funded project “Integrating data donation in survey infrastructure: Quantifying, explaining, and addressing errors in representation and measurement”.
More about Prof. Dr Florian Keusch
More about Dr Sebastian Prechsl
About the discussant:
Caroline Roberts is a Senior Lecturer and Researcher in quantitative research methods based in the Institute of Social Sciences at the University of Lausanne (UNIL), Switzerland. She is also an Affiliated Researcher/ Survey Methodologist at FORS, the Swiss Centre of Expertise in the Social Sciences and the Swiss Centre of Expertise in Life Course Research. She co-leads a research programme on survey methodology as part of the 'Developments in Research and Methods in the Social Sciences (DReMSS)' platform at UNIL. Caroline is a specialist in survey methodology and questionnaire design, and the design and implementation of survey experiments.
More about Dr Caroline Roberts