An Open-Source, Secure, Replicable Virtual Data Enclave for Social Science Research

SOMAR wants to make their system replicable so that other data custodians can also provide trusted research environments. We use a cooking analogy to describe our plans: –Create a guide that shows exactly how we configured our cloud computing infrastructure so that it can be recreated by others. This is like a detailed recipe that other data custodians can follow to make a similar safe space for their own research ingredients (data). Infrastructure-as-code tools such as Terraform make this recipe-sharing possible. –Teach engineers at the University of Texas at Austin how to use this guide. Its like giving them a cooking class, so they learn to make the same dish (set up a trusted research environment in the cloud) following the recipe. –Test everything at the University of Texas at Austin to make sure the guide works well and other people can follow it without any hiccups. Its like making sure the recipe can be used in someone elses kitchen with their own supplies. –Document all the steps and acceptable substitutions. This means keeping a detailed diary of the whole process to make sure they don’t miss anything and can pass on a clear, easy-to-follow manual to others. By doing all this, SOMAR is going to make it possible for more researchers to safely analyze social media data and discover new insights that can help us make better decisions, create informed policies, and understand how society works online.