MEO

Observatory Data

MEO collects data across social and AI platforms and combines it with public opinion surveys to provide unique visibility into Canada’s information ecosystem.

Access and eligibility

The data are shared with researchers at Canadian universities, for academic research. Every request is reviewed and every account is named.

Eligibility

The lead requester must:

  • Be a professor at a Canadian university, listed on the university’s website
  • Reside in Canada and oversee the research project
  • Be answerable for their team’s access, and maintain an up-to-date list of their team

Approved researchers work with the social media data in the MEO Insights Hub (a web app) or through the API and command-line client. Survey data are shared as files. Documentation of every field comes with access.

Data Access Request Form

Raw digital trace data is shared only with researchers at Canadian universities for designed and approved academic research.

Eligibility

The lead requester must:

  • Be a professor at a Canadian university, listed on the university’s website
  • Reside in Canada and oversee the research project
  • Be answerable for their team’s access, and maintain an up-to-date list of their team

Team members must also reside in Canada and be affiliated with a Canadian university, and the request must support a named academic project.

Once you apply:

  1. We review the request against the criteria above.
  2. If it is approved, you agree to the usage rules and get personal credentials.
  3. Access ends when the project does, and downloaded raw data is deleted.
data access request
data requested · Tick everything the project needs — you can ask for both.

Data Usage Rules

By accessing or using MEO data with the credentials issued to you, you agree to comply with the following Data Usage Rules:

  1. 1

    Only the requester and collaborators listed in the Data Access Request Form may access MEO data. If a new collaborator is added, the requester must obtain approval from MEO before that person is granted access.

  2. 2

    Each data user must access the data using the login credentials assigned to them. Credentials must not be shared with others.

  3. 3

    Raw data must not be published or shared with anyone other than the requester and collaborators listed in the Data Access Request Form.

  4. 4

    Personally Identifiable Information (PII) must not be disclosed or published in any form. Research results shared externally must be sufficiently aggregated to prevent individuals from being identified.

    • PII includes, but is not limited to, names, addresses, phone numbers, government-issued identifiers, or combinations of information that could be used to identify an individual, such as gender, city, and employer.
    • Even when results are aggregated, care must be taken to ensure that individuals cannot be re-identified through triangulation.
  5. 5

    The data may only be used for the research described in the Data Access Request Form. Any other use, including searching for an individual’s information for personal or unrelated purposes, is strictly prohibited. MEO reserves the right to audit API queries and terminate access in cases of inappropriate use.

  6. 6

    Any raw data downloaded during the research process must be deleted at the end of the research period specified in the Data Access Request Form. Aggregated datasets may be retained provided they do not contain information that could identify an individual, either directly or indirectly through triangulation.

  7. 7

    Publications and other research outputs using the requested data should cite MEO/CMTD as the data source.

 (Open the rules to enable this.)

Data Usage Rules

By accessing or using MEO data with the credentials issued to you, you agree to comply with the following Data Usage Rules:

  1. 1

    Only the requester and collaborators listed in the Data Access Request Form may access MEO data. If a new collaborator is added, the requester must obtain approval from MEO before that person is granted access.

  2. 2

    Each data user must access the data using the login credentials assigned to them. Credentials must not be shared with others.

  3. 3

    Raw data must not be published or shared with anyone other than the requester and collaborators listed in the Data Access Request Form.

  4. 4

    Personally Identifiable Information (PII) must not be disclosed or published in any form. Research results shared externally must be sufficiently aggregated to prevent individuals from being identified.

    • PII includes, but is not limited to, names, addresses, phone numbers, government-issued identifiers, or combinations of information that could be used to identify an individual, such as gender, city, and employer.
    • Even when results are aggregated, care must be taken to ensure that individuals cannot be re-identified through triangulation.
  5. 5

    The data may only be used for the research described in the Data Access Request Form. Any other use, including searching for an individual’s information for personal or unrelated purposes, is strictly prohibited. MEO reserves the right to audit API queries and terminate access in cases of inappropriate use.

  6. 6

    Any raw data downloaded during the research process must be deleted at the end of the research period specified in the Data Access Request Form. Aggregated datasets may be retained provided they do not contain information that could identify an individual, either directly or indirectly through triangulation.

  7. 7

    Publications and other research outputs using the requested data should cite MEO/CMTD as the data source.

What is available

Social media

We collect public posts from Canadian politicians, news outlets, influencers and other prominent voices across nine platforms, daily since 2022, with earlier collections also available. Offered as one cross-platform dataset with common fields, as platform-specific collections, and with an influential voices list.

AI platforms

We repeatedly audit AI chatbots and answer engines to understand what they tell Canadians about news and politics as well as the sources they draw upon.

Surveys

We conduct national public opinion tracking on Canadians’ media habits, trust and political attitudes, which connects what circulates online with what people believe.

Questions?

If you are not sure whether you are eligible, what the data cover, or whether they fit your project, get in touch. We are happy to talk it through.

Ask usmeo@mcgill.ca