The App Studies Initiative designs methods and software tools for app-related media research. These tools are freely available to everyone.
Note: Some of our tools require a password (indicated by a *). Please reach out to request access to these tools. We look forward to hearing from you.
| Name | Description | Version | Link | Info | Developed (With) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| App Studies Capture & Analysis Toolkit* | Scrape app details, app store lists, and app store recommendations from Apple's iTunes App Store. This is an instance of the 4CAT Capture and Analysis Toolkit, a software suite that can capture data from a variety of online sources, and analyze the data through analytical processors. | beta | appstudies.digitalmethods.net | bit.ly/asirw-1; 4cat.nl | Digital Methods Initiative / OILab (University of Amsterdam) | github.com |
| AppInspect | Scan and inspect Android application packages (APKs). | beta | appinspect.phil.uni-siegen.de | appinspect.phil.uni-siegen.de | CRC ‘Media of Cooperation’ (University of Siegen) | github.com |
| PyCatFlow | A Python package for visualising categorical time series data. | beta | zenodo.org | medium.com | CRC ‘Media of Cooperation’ (University of Siegen) | github.com |
| AppTraffic | Capture, inspect, and playback the traffic of mobile apps. | beta | apptraffic.phil.uni-siegen.de | apptraffic.phil.uni-siegen.de | CRC ‘Media of Cooperation’ (University of Siegen) | github.com |
| iTunes App Store Scraper* | Scrape app details, app store lists, and app store recommendations from Apple's iTunes App Store. | beta | tools.digitalmethods.net | bit.ly/asirw-1 | Digital Methods Initiative (University of Amsterdam) | pypi.org/project/itunes-app-scraper-dmi |
| Google Play Scraper* | Scrape app details, app store lists, app store recommendations, and app permissions from Google Play. | beta | tools.digitalmethods.net | bit.ly/asirw-1 | Digital Methods Initiative (University of Amsterdam) | pypi.org/project/google-play-scraper-dmi |
| PartS 2.0 | (Live) capture and collect sensor data from Android-supported mobile devices and apps. | alpha | CRC ‘Media of Cooperation’ (University of Siegen) | |||
| LE-CAT | Analyse and categorise textual data using a specified lexicon (categorisation schema). | beta | sisko.cim.warwick.ac.uk | github.com | Centre for Interdisciplinary Methodologies (University of Warwick); CRC ‘Media of Cooperation’ (University of Siegen) | github.com |
| Walkthrough Explorer | Analyse and compare app interface screens in specified apps. | beta | Centre for Interdisciplinary Methodologies (University of Warwick) | |||
| Appcestry | Analyse Android APK files to identify code base similarities. | beta | appcestry.jasontc.net | appcestry.jasontc.net | Jason Chao (University of Warwick) | github.com |
| App Tracker Tracker | Detect software development libraries used in Android APK files. | beta | tools.digitalmethods.net | wiki.digitalmethods.net | Digital Methods Initiative (University of Amsterdam) | |
| Google Play ‘Similar’ Apps | Extract the details of Android apps, collect ‘Similar’ Android apps, and extract their details. | beta | tools.digitalmethods.net | wiki.digitalmethods.net | Digital Methods Initiative (University of Amsterdam) | |
| iTunes Store | Query the iTunes Store and extract the details of iOS apps. | beta | tools.digitalmethods.net | wiki.digitalmethods.net | Digital Methods Initiative (University of Amsterdam) |
We also create reference worksheets and other resources to assist students, researchers, and lecturers in their training or teaching with tools. These are also freely available to everyone.
| Title | Status | Link | Part of | Created (With) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Instagram Data Scraping | public | bit.ly/asirw-2 | bit.ly/msrw-index | Digital Methods Initiative; Public Data Lab; King’s College London (Digital Humanities) |
| App Store Data Scraping | public | bit.ly/asirw-1 | bit.ly/msrw-index | Digital Methods Initiative |