We are delighted to have a paper published this week to the International Journal of Population Data Science, titled “Linking Digital Footprint Data Into Longitudinal Population Studies”. Led by Romana, the paper is based on findings from a workshop held at the Digital Footprints Conference 2024, where Anya brought together experts working with longitudinal population studies (LPS) to present on the challenges of integrating digital footprint data into them.
Collating the insights from this workshop, we developed a four-part approach to securely carrying out these linkages:
- Understand Participant Expectations and Acceptability: This stage takes place before any data is collected, and involves transparent discussions with participants about how their data will be used, how they feel about it, and if they have any concerns. This is vital for building trust, which is especially important when working within an LPS setting.
- Collect and Link the Data: This stage involves collecting the data (potentially from third party companies), and integrating it into the LPS.
- Evaluate Properties of the Data: This stage is concerned with validating the accuracy and representativeness of the data, including acknowledging and documenting any biases in the data.
- Ensure Secure and Ethical Access for Research: The final stage involves storing and analysing the data securely, including taking measures to protect privacy, such as anonymising data or using synthetic datasets.
This approach ensures that data linkage is carried out securely and ethically, helping researchers to responsibly connect digital footprint data into longitudinal population studies for the benefit of health research.
Read more about the work here, and find the published paper itself here!