Towards the SocioScope: an Information System for the the Study of Social Dynamics through Digital Traces

Abstract

Over the past decade there has been an explosion in the deployment of pervasive systems like cell phone networks and content aggregators on the Internet that produce massive amounts of data as by-products of their interaction with users. This data is related to the actions and opinions of people and thereby to the overall dynamics of cities, how they function and evolve over time.

Here we propose the implementation of a new information system, the SocioScope, that streamlines the operations of data gathering and data storage and that supports the diverse needs of the research community, local authorities, enterprises, and citizens. Our SocioScope allows for the collection, integration, and study of different types of spatiotemporal data.

We present two use cases and an analysis of the requirements for the system. We introduce the multi-tier architecture that supports data gathering, storage, integration, analysis, and visualization. We describe the technical implementation of each module of the system and of the security mechanism for data access control. We conclude with a discussion on the opportunities and challenges of the study of digital traces and with an brief illustration of future directions of work.