One Does Not Simply Analyze Tracking Data: Challenges of Utilizing Large-Scale Tracking Collections for Communication Research

Digital tracking data provides new possibilities for studying information behavior. However, the analysis of tracking data poses multiple challenges, in particular for more "greedy" approaches which aim to maximize the volume of captured information (e.g., using denylists instead of allowlists and tracking not only visits, but the actual content which the tracked individuals engage with). These challenges range from the necessity of more restrictive access and storage protocols to the additional data (pre)processing pipelines required to filter out sensitive content and retrieve information for studying specific phenomena (e.g., news repertoires or selective exposure). In our talk, we discuss our experiences of tackling these challenges in the context of using desktop-based tracking research to study information behavior in Germany and Switzerland, using the internally developed WebTrack tool.