A non-technical researcher’s guide to studying mobile tracking and materialising data flows
A Digital Child Working Paper
We prepared this paper as part of our own learning journeys, to facilitate the study of data flows for researchers with limited technical skills.
While the first section focusses on making the terminology and mechanisms of tracking accessible at a more general level, the second and most extensive section of the paper includes more detailed examples of commonly used approaches to materialise and study the data flows of mobile applications. Notably, due to the rapidly changing nature of the digital environment, some of the methods and tools described in this paper may no longer be functional today. However, the point of the paper is not to provide an exhaustive and updated list of all the approaches available. Rather, it aims to provide an overview of commonly used methods and tools used at the point of writing, which has enduring relevance in chronicling how approaches are developing, even beyond the current context.
Volume/Number: 2026-01
Date published: 2 March 2026
Series type: Methods and Methodologies
DOI: doi.org/10.26187/34rf-qz04
Suggested citation: Langton K., Ng, R. 2026. A non-technical researcher’s guide to studying mobile tracking and materialising data flows. Digital Child Working Paper 2026-01, Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child, Brisbane, Australia