Meta Content Library and API

Meta Research Tools Manager

Meta Secure Research Environment (SRE)

SOMAR Virtual Data Enclave (VDE)

US 2020 Facebook & Instagram Election Study

SOMAR Application Portal

SOMAR Virtual Data Enclave (VDE) only

All datasets

Dataset required for research*

This is a cascading drop-down menu question.

Please let us know the names of the dataset(s) needed for your research project.

U.S. 2020 Facebook and Instagram Election Study

Since you selected the U.S. 2020 Facebook and Instagram Election Study, please select the files you need for your research project.

This is a multi-select dropdown question. Please select all of the datasets you need for your research.

All Datasets

First name of Applicant*

Last name of Applicant*

Institutional email of Applicant*

The Applicant's email address must show their institutional affiliation.

All Datasets

First name of Lead Researcher*

All Datasets

Last name of Lead Researcher*

All Datasets

Institutional email of Lead Researcher*

The Lead Researcher's email address must show their institutional affiliation. NOTE: Personal email addresses, such as @gmail.com, are not permitted.

All Datasets

Primary discipline or professional area of expertise*

• Beyond the Hashtags: #Ferguson, #Blacklivesmatter, and the Online Struggle for Offline Justice

• ChatGPT in education: A discourse analysis of worries and concerns on social media

• Politweets: Tweets of politicians, celebrities, news media, and influencers from India and the United States

• U.S. 2020 Facebook and Instagram Election Study

Highest degree earned*

Please name the highest degree earned by the Lead Researcher.

NOTE: Lead Researchers must hold a terminal degree (e.g., PhD, MD, DrPh, or JD) to access data the VDE.

• Replication data for "Emergent structures of attention on social media are driven by amplification and triad transitivity"

• State of Social Connections Study

• Candidata

Highest degree earned*

Please name the highest degree earned by the Lead Researcher (e.g., PhD, MD, DrPh, JD, MA, MS, MPH, BA, etc.)

Note: This information is collected for demographic purposes; no degree is required to access the data.

All Datasets

Affiliational profile URL (organization, research, or academia)*

The Lead Researcher must provide a personal profile showing their current affiliation. Include a link to one of the following: an active institutional profile or biography, an organizational website with a directory or staff list, an ORCID or ResearchGate profile, or a webpage for their research group, lab, or department. If links are unavailable, submit other documentation at the end of the application to verify affiliation.

Note: LinkedIn profiles, GitHub Pages, and personal websites are not allowed.

All Datasets

Institution name*

The Lead Researcher must be currently affiliated with the institution listed here.

Lead Researchers must be affiliated with an academic institution or a non-university organization, institute, or society that operates as a not-for-profit entity and focuses on scientific or public interest research. Researchers from diverse disciplinary and professional backgrounds are welcome to apply.

All Datasets

Type of Institution*

All Datasets

Country of institution (ISO Code)*

Please provide the 3-letter ISO country code for your institution (e.g., USA, CHN, AUS). To find the correct code, use the following link and search for your country’s 3-letter code: https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#search/code/.

All Datasets

State/Province of institution*

Please provide the full name of the state or province of the affiliated institution.

All Datasets

City of institution*

Please provide the full name of the city of the affiliated institution.

All Datasets

Department name*

If your institution does not have a department, please add “N/A’

All Datasets

Institute, center, or lab name*

If you do not have anything to report, please add "N/A".

All Datasets

Role at institution*

Applicants will choose one answer from the following options:

• Assistant professor

• Associate professor

• Professor

• PhD student

• Master’s student

• Lecturer

• Postdoctoral fellow

• Independent researcher

• Staff researcher

• Other (describe)

All Datasets

Lead Researcher's resume or curriculum vitae*

Please upload the Lead Researcher's resume or curriculum vitae in Adobe PDF or Microsoft Word.

All Datasets

Are there any collaborators that need access to the requested data for this research project?*

Select 'Yes' only if your collaborators will perform analysis or data management activities.

Only individuals who need to analyze or directly interact with the data can be added as collaborators.

Those who review output or results outside the Virtual Data Enclave or just before submission to a publisher or conference do not need to be added as collaborators for your data access request.

Applicable Datasets

Fields/Questions

Notes for Applicants

All Datasets

Research Project Title*

Please provide your project title or a brief, 1-2 sentence overview of your research agenda.

*Examples could include “investigate public health discourse on social media,” “study social media content related to upcoming presidential elections,” etc.

All Datasets

Research project summary*

In 250 words or less (up to 1750 characters), describe your research agenda or plans for a non-specialist audience. Your research agenda can include longer-term or ongoing research that you and your team are conducting. Please be sure to address: your general area of focus, guiding research questions, methodologies, as well as any endpoints, data types, or data fields of interest. If you haven't already, please consult the publicly available documentation about the data before you begin your application.

All Datasets

Keywords associated with research*

List the keywords associated with the research project. Please separate the keywords with commas.

All Datasets

Funding source(s)*

List the funding sources that will support the Lead Researcher's data analysis. Please separate the funding items with commas.

You may enter "N/A" if there are none.

All Datasets

Justification for why requested data are required for your research activities.*

(250 words or less)

Please briefly explain why the data you are applying to access are required for your research activities.

All Datasets

Research outcomes*

Please select the intended outcome(s) of your research project.

One or more answers from the following options may be selected:

• Peer-reviewed article

• Conference presentation

• White paper

• Article (popular press)

• Study reproduction (for journal peer reviewers)

• Study reproduction (for researchers/data users)

• Article review

• Report

• Other

Applicable Datasets

Fields/Questions

Notes for Applicants

• Beyond the Hashtags: #Ferguson, #Blacklivesmatter, and the Online Struggle for Offline Justice

• ChatGPT in education: A discourse analysis of worries and concerns on social media

• Meta Content Library and Content Library API (for API Access)

• Politweets: Tweets of politicians, celebrities, news media, and influencers from India and the United States

• U.S. 2020 Facebook and Instagram Election Study

Including any education, the total number of years of coding experience*

Information about the Lead Researcher's coding experience is necessary to inform SOMAR how best to assist researchers for VDE access.

Coding experience can come from using Python, R, Java, C++, and so on.

Applicants will choose one answer from the following options:

• No experience

• Less than 1 year

• 1 to 4 years

• 5 to 9 years

• 10-14 years

• 15+ years

Preferred programming languages* 

Please select your preferred programming languages.

Preferred statistical software for quantitative data analysis*

Please select your preferred statistical software for quantitative data analysis.

Evidence of technical skills of Lead Researcher and/or collaborators*

Experience with Python, R, SQL, or another coding or querying language is recommended for VDE access. Explain your experience with a coding or querying language here, or applicants may provide evidence via a link to a GitHub repository or other location where code examples have been shared. Access to the VDE is not dependent on experience with coding. This field is to help SOMAR know how to best support researchers.

Note: If the Project Application references a collaborator’s experience to meet eligibility or expertise requirements, that collaborator must complete the Collaborator Addition Request form for the application to proceed. Until the form is submitted, we cannot consider their qualifications in the review process of the Project Application, and the application will be placed on hold.

*The character limit is 5000.

Evidence of responsible experience or use of sensitive or restricted data*

Evidence of responsible experience or understanding of sensitive or restricted-use datasets is required. Please provide up to 3 citations or examples of your research that demonstrate your experience or understanding of using sensitive data.

*The character limit is 5000.

Ethical guidelines to be used to guide research agenda*

Please 1) indicate the ethical guidelines you will use to guide your research project, and 2) describe how you plan to apply specific principles in practice. For example, you may refer to the AOIR Ethics, NeurIPS Code of Ethics, or Williams, Burlap, and Sloan (2017), but you must also describe how you adhere to the guidelines you selected.

I confirm that I will use these data solely for statistical analysis and reporting of aggregated information, and not to investigate specific individuals or organizations.*

I confirm that all research team members, including the Lead Researcher, have the skills needed to work with the data responsibly if access is granted.*

• Beyond the Hashtags: #Ferguson, #Blacklivesmatter, and the Online Struggle for Offline Justice

• ChatGPT in education: A discourse analysis of worries and concerns on social media

• Meta Content Library and Content Library API (for API Access)

• Politweets: Tweets of politicians, celebrities, news media, and influencers from India and the United States

• U.S. 2020 Facebook and Instagram Election Study

Do you currently have active credentials (example: uniqname) to access the SOMAR VDE?*

Please select “Yes” or “No”.

Active credentials mean you can access the SOMAR VDE.

Date of Birth (month/day/year)*

This field is required if you select “No” to the active VDE credentials question.

Phone Number (home/mobile)*

This field is required if you select “No” to the active VDE credentials question.

Please enter your phone number using numbers only (no symbols, spaces, or letters). Include your country and area codes. For example: 441234567890 (UK) or 12125551234 (US).

I confirm that the Lead Researcher has completed the VDE training video and successfully passed the VDE training quiz as outlined in Steps 1 and 2 above..*

This field is required if you select “No” to the active VDE credentials question.

• Beyond the Hashtags: #Ferguson, #Blacklivesmatter, and the Online Struggle for Offline Justice

• ChatGPT in education: A discourse analysis of worries and concerns on social media

• Politweets: Tweets of politicians, celebrities, news media, and influencers from India and the United States

• U.S. 2020 Facebook and Instagram Election Study

Upload Signed Restricted Data Agreement*

Please upload the signed agreement in PDF format. The Restricted Data Agreement must be signed and dated by both the Lead Researcher and an institutional representative authorized to act on their institution’s behalf. This representative typically handles research compliance and agreements, legal counsel, or serves as an executive such as a President, Vice President, Dean (at some non-U.S. institutions), or department head (at some non-U.S. institutions).

Institutional signatory† name*

Please provide the name of the legal authority at the affiliated institution that will sign the restricted data agreement associated with this research project.

Institutional signatory† title*

Please provide the title of the legal authority identified for this application (e.g., Vice President, Contracts Specialist, Chair, Dean, etc.).

Institutional signatory† email address*

Please provide the email address for the legal authority identified for this application