Taking the pulse of the city!

What if you could pinpoint the happiest areas of the city on Fridays at 6 pm in July? Or find the scariest parks in the city, or the bus stops that cause the most frustration? Discovering these places could help make Toronto a better and happier city. Answering these kinds of questions requires knowing how large segments of the population are feeling as they move about the city..

What is this about?

This summer a research team from 4 universities (Wilfrid Laurier, Waterloo, Ottawa, and Loughborough - United Kingdom) are conducting a study of Twitter users in the City of Toronto to try to answer these questions. We are looking at where and when people Tweet and what kinds of things people are saying on Twitter. We want you to help us learn how people in Toronto use social media and how different parts of the city make you feel. Plus, if you take part in the study you will get up to $35 in Gift Cards for Starbucks or Amazon.com!

What do you have to do?

We are inviting you to participate for up to 4 weeks. We simply want you to complete a series of short surveys, which include demographic questions, as well as questions about how you feel and experience the city. We will target our short surveys based on when and where you Tweet. Over time, we want to build up a map of peoples' responses and experiences. You just have to Tweet as you normally would and occasionally answer a few questions. The study will take at most 10 minutes a day for a total of 1.5 to 2 hours over the course of the 4-week period.

Who we're looking for...

We are recruiting active Twitter users that live or work in the City of Toronto. To participate, you must be at least 18 years of age.

Now what?

More information about the study can be found in the study materials that follow. If you are interested in participating in our study, please apply now!