Inside the Black Box: Researching Russia Through Digital and Survey Methods
Location: Online
Overview
NEST Centre and CEDAR invite researchers to take part in the online conference on 9–10 October 2026.
As access to reliable data on contemporary Russia becomes increasingly restricted, researchers must find new ways to work with fragmented, incomplete, or politically sensitive information. To understand Russian society, politics, and institutions, researchers are increasingly turning to digital methods, including the analysis of digital traces, alternative data sources, and computational approaches.
The conference will bring together academics, graduate students, journalists, independent researchers, analysts, and technical specialists. We aim to connect academic research with hands-on data practice and to discuss what sources, methods, and research infrastructure are needed to study today’s Russia.
Requirements
Participation is free of charge, but advance registration is required. Please register using the online registration form.
Additional Information
Research internships and project funding
As part of the open call, NEST Centre and CEDAR will award two research grants of €1,000, each to support data-driven research projects. The funding call is open to researchers, students (both graduate and undergraduate), independent scholars, journalists, analysts, and everyone interested.
Selected applicants will receive:
- research and methodological support from the CEDAR team;
- access to relevant expertise, tools, and data resources;
- opportunities to discuss the project with researchers and practitioners in the field;
- publication of the final research output as a joint NEST Centre–CEDAR publication.
Supported projects must be completed within two months of receiving funding.
Evaluation criteria:
- Relevance. Projects should address important and timely issues related to contemporary Russia.
- Clarity and accessibility. Academic projects are welcome, but the project’s main purpose, approach, and expected contribution should be clearly understandable to a broader, non-specialist audience.
- Data-driven approach. Projects should be based on original data collection. This may include social media data, survey data, data scraped from websites or other online sources, or other types of original datasets.
- Novelty and originality. Projects should offer a new perspective, address an understudied question, or apply an innovative approach to data collection.
Shortlisted funding applicants may be invited to an online pitching session. Applicants seeking funding should submit a short google form. The deadline for applications is 15 September 2026.