More and more digital data is being generated every day, and more and more social science
analyses are using Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook data. Many international and national studies
have already explored the social science opportunities and dilemmas raised by the phenomenon
of ‚big data’ - but the issue of ‚access to data’ has only been touched upon tangentially. And
access to data is becoming increasingly difficult. What can we do if market players close the
access to their data, and, if we find data available, the Research Ethics Board tells us to stop? The
answer is simple: go to the users and ask them for the data. This approach is what the literature
calls data donation. This paper will describe the data donation approach in detail, focusing on
how researchers can access data through users on the current major Western platforms. The
practical feasibility of data donation access will be illustrated based on a domestic pilot study.