Leveraging Web Scraping for Economic Research: A Collaboration with Researcher from Aston University

Gabija Birgile

2024-08-122 min read

We are happy to share that Oxylabs' pro bono initiative, "Project 4β," partnered with Dr. Ngoc Dieu Linh Vi, a lecturer in Economics at Aston University. Dr. Linh Vi uses public web data collection technologies to gain valuable insights into economic and social trends. Her research focuses on analyzing data such as online job vacancies, prices, house prices, and online donations.

Primary Goals of Data Collection

Dr. Vi's primary goal in engaging with public web data collection and web scraping is to gather comprehensive data for research purposes. By analyzing online job vacancies, her team studies labor market trends. Monitoring online prices aids in understanding price-setting behaviors while tracking house prices and online donations provides insights into broader economic and social trends. This multifaceted approach allows for a deeper understanding of the economic landscape.

Through the partnership with Oxylabs' Project 4β, Dr. Linh Vi got free access to Oxylabs WEB Scraper API, which helps bypass anti-scraping systems and extract large volumes of data from even the most complex websites.

Without web scraping technology, our ability to conduct research would be significantly hindered. We would have to resort to manual data collection or surveys, which are time-consuming and less efficient. These methods would not be as effective as web scraping in terms of scale, speed, and timeliness.

Dr. Ngoc Dieu Linh Vi, a lecturer in Economics at Aston University.

Impact and Success Stories

The use of web scraping technology has yielded significant outcomes for Dr. Vi's research. One notable achievement was identifying gender-bias and physical appearance bias in emerging countries. This finding has important policy implications for addressing biases in the labor market, helping to inform policies to promote fairness and equality in employment practices. Such insights are essential for developing policies that address and mitigate biases, fostering a more equitable job market.

The partnership with Project 4beta has been crucial in enhancing our data collection and web scraping capabilities. They have provided us with advanced tools and support, allowing us to collect and analyze data more effectively and efficiently.

Dr. Ngoc Dieu Linh Vi

Join 4β

This collaboration underscores the vital role web intelligence plays in advancing economic studies, demonstrating the transformative power of web scraping in economic research. "Project 4β" is committed to aiding academic institutions, NGOs, NPOs, and other organizations in addressing critical questions and missions. We invite those interested in gaining complimentary access to Oxylabs' web intelligence acquisition tools to reach out via our contact form.

About the author

Gabija Birgile

Senior PR Manager

Gabija Birgile is a Senior PR Manager at Oxylabs. After working in a PR agency and juggling various projects for quite some time, she wanted to try a role in the tech industry. Making a positive impact with her work was always on top of her mind, so managing "Project 4β" pro bono partnerships now definitely does the job. If you have a project in mind, drop her a message at 4beta@oxylabs.io.

Learn more about Gabija Birgile

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