CHASR supports web scraping, either as a standalone activity, or as part of a larger project. Web scraping is a technique where publicly available, human-readable content is transferred into another format so that it may be analyzed more easily. This translation is automated using custom computer programs. CHASR staff can convert the data into a range of formats, including CSV, XML, or JSON.

Web scraping programs can process large amounts of data in a relatively short period of time. The program must be developed to extract the needed data, usually from websites or web repositories. The program also handles data cleaning, and translation of the data into the desired output format.

CHASR supports data acquisition and extraction services for a variety of research data types, such as geospatial or relational data, and data indicators, including economic, social, and environmental indicators. We routinely provide:

• Social media data acquisition and extraction services from various social media platforms, including , LinkedIn , and others
• Research data and metadata compilation and extraction from various repositories, databases, and other specialized digital libraries, including the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Bank, and others
• Geospatial data acquisitions and extractions

CHASR supports data processing services as a standalone activity, or as part of larger CHASR-supported research projects that may involve data analysis and reporting, including:

• Research data linkages, merging, cleaning, and transformation using a variety of software packages, such as R, Python, Tableau, SPSS, STATA, ArcGIS, and others
• Spatial data conversion and extraction services, including map digitization, scanning, and georeferencing
• Remote sensing and image processing, including feature extraction from satellite, aerial, or drone imagery