Mum's the word... using text analysis to better understand expressions and experiences related to fertility

New data sources are expanding opportunities in Demography. Survey-based methods miss some of the demographic and social processes that we need to understand, such as complex emotions and experiences across all areas of life, from employment, to partnerships, and to fertility treatment. Digital trace data offers a potential real-time benefit, allowing us to track societal changes by avoiding the time lags of surveys. For instance, the main source of data proposed in this research spans from 2006 to today, with data on a minute-by-minute timescale. More so than simply accessing untapped data, the interest of this research is in how using this data towards demographic research, by capturing the dynamic and highly personal formation of fertility plans. The use of surveys in fertility research leads the field, but, the assumptions embedded in the survey wording and response options construct how demographers, the public, and policymakers interpret population dynamics (Chatterjee and Riley 2018). This research intends to avoid the middle-man of the survey by using the Internet and the application of large-scale text analysis for fertility research in order to answer questions that surveys maybe fail to answer - relating to emotions, experiences and intentions.

The real-world impact of this research is driven by the opportunities to look closer at the individual and how individuals navigate the pathway to parenthood in a digital age, where ever more, the Internet is a source of information and also a place for expression. By using spontaneous and anonymous expressions, insights can be made into how in-person educational information is lacking, how the groups that are under-represented in surveys may be left behind in research, and how the representation of individual's experiences can be improved. From web forums to mobile phone apps, each step of the transition to parenthood can be better understood through the granularity and the masses of Internet data. The Internet is changing the way people progress to parenthood, by tracking the menstrual cycle with the intention to become or avoid becoming pregnant with fertility tracking apps, while using social media platforms to express emotions and experiences along the way. The focus of this proposed research will be on fertility overall, although the initial research will be built on female-majority platforms. As the research progresses, this proposal aims to build on the knowledge of male fertility and non-heterosexual fertility, which are sometimes difficult to study in demography due in part to the lack of available data.