Explore the Sinquefield Center for Applied Economic Research鈥檚 cutting-edge economic research and its impact on data access and research productivity.
When we have a question, our immediate response is to open our phones and find the answer online. In a matter of seconds, we have answers in hand that prompt us to continue our conversations or navigate to our destination. For economic researchers and policymakers, the world鈥檚 instantaneous access to large amounts of data is only a benefit in further increasing the rate of discovery.
Economic data unleashes the power to perform cutting-edge research on urban economic development, human behavioral patterns, and social policies. Since 2018, the Sinquefield Center for Applied Economic Research (SCAER) has produced transformative economic research aimed at creating new economic opportunities in St. Louis. With data readily at its researcher鈥檚 fingertips, SCAER actively provides researchers across the University with access to imperative data points.
Transforming Access to Data
SCAER hosts a large cloud database at 抖阴pro with over four and a half years of data files dating back to 2019. The cloud storage bucket receives large amounts of de-identified cell phone mobility data through its partner, Veraset. The collected data enables the creation of useful files for a wide range of research studies centered on the patterns of social mobility, such as patient movement to dialysis centers, travel distances to obtain food, or where students attend high school.
Over the past year, the Sinquefield Center made significant strides in its data consolidation process. Through its utilization of Amazon Web Services (AWS), the center established a data workflow that quickly processes and cleans large data files by removing duplicates, addressing errors, and correctly formatting data for the researcher鈥檚 use.
Shruthi Sreenivasa Murthy, assistant director of research computing at SLU, leads
the cloud transformation efforts throughout the University鈥檚 research community. She
works within the SLU Research Computing Group (RGC), which was created to develop and improve the University鈥檚 computing infrastructure
and technology services for research. The RGC offers an array of research computing
services to SLU鈥檚 faculty, researchers, and students and manages the University鈥檚
high-performance computing (HPC) environment.
Her role is integral to SCAER鈥檚 research data-refinement process: simplifying researchers鈥�
access to data, maintaining security, and enabling the ability to manipulate data
to suit different researchers鈥� needs. But the most important aspect of her role directly
correlates with SLU鈥檚 rate of discovery.
鈥淔or anyone doing data analysis, 90% of the work goes into data cleaning and organizing, and only 10% actually goes into analysis,鈥� Shruthi Sreenivasa Murthy said. 鈥淲e wanted to make sure that the researchers do their research, and we take on that part of cleaning and organizing to make it easier for them.鈥�
The current workflow is a solution that specifically addresses the pre- and post-processing phases of the data process. Pre-processing involves preparing raw data by cleaning, organizing, and structuring it into a suitable format for researchers. From there, data goes through post-processing, where data is compressed and research-based filters are applied so researchers can extract valuable insights and incorporate them into their work.
Often, the pre-processing phase takes a significant amount of time to complete. SLU鈥檚 previous process would take more than 15 minutes to retrieve requested data. With its new system, researchers can work with a data manager to submit one query in the cloud for a specific set of data, and in less than 30 seconds, they will receive what they need to continue their cutting-edge research. She explained the database now allows researchers to do their work at a much faster pace, and further reduces the cost and time spent on the pre-processing phase.
鈥淲e thought a little bit outside the box,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e put it all on the cloud and made sure anybody who wants access gets immediate and secure access. They don鈥檛 have to wait, and it makes sure people who have ideas, and who want to use this data, can actually make use of it.鈥�
Putting Data Into Action
At its core, SCAER strives to advance research focused on economic growth and social welfare to shape our public policies and create opportunities for all. Throughout the year, the center has supported various projects using aggregated cell-mobility data, including a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant focused on assessing community resilience to natural hazards.
Everyone has their own unique response to unforeseen disasters, and this phenomenon piqued the interest of Kenan Li, Ph.D., assistant professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the College for Public Health and Social Justice, to develop research based on human mobility data during times of uncertainty.
Li serves as the principal investigator of the study alongside his collaborators within SCAER and at Louisiana State University, University of South Florida and Texas A&M University. The project delves into the intersection of human-mobility data and movement patterns to understand individual reactions during some of our nation鈥檚 most preeminent natural disasters 鈥� hurricanes, tornadoes and floods.
鈥淧reviously, our insights were primarily based on census data, which often doesn't provide a detailed and real-time perspective on how communities are affected,鈥� Li said. 鈥淗owever, by utilizing human-mobility data, we can now capture a more granular and timely view of human responses, allowing us to better assess community vulnerability and resilience.鈥�
For Li鈥檚 research, SCAER plays an important role in the project鈥檚 access to the data it requires to study community resilience on a much finer scale. Since mobility data can be overwhelming and noisy without the right pre-processing techniques, Li explained that the computing system SLU has in place and SCAER鈥檚 collaboration provide an added benefit to his work and connect to the University鈥檚 Jesuit mission.
鈥淥ur research directly aligns with SLU's broader mission of serving humanity,鈥� Li said. 鈥淏y investigating human mobility patterns during natural disasters, we aim to better understand how communities respond and adapt to such events. This knowledge equips policymakers and emergency services with insights to develop more efficient evacuation plans, ensuring the safety of residents during times of crisis.鈥�
With the project in its early stages, Li and his collaborators are actively conducting case studies that will help gauge and verify community resilience and inform policymakers and emergency services with insights that will develop more efficient evacuation plans.
鈥淲e鈥檝e successfully initiated a pilot case study that examines human mobility within the evacuation zones designated by the state of Florida during Hurricane Ian,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his preliminary study serves as a platform for our team to refine our data pipeline and methodology.鈥�
As the project progresses, Li hopes the research 鈥� with the help of the SCAER database 鈥� will inspire more innovative community resilience studies at both the regional and national level and ensure the safety of others during times of crisis.
An Impactful Investment
Changing the trajectory of today鈥檚 economic landscape requires an ongoing spirit of innovation and a simplification of time-consuming data collection processes. The Sinquefield Center charts a path forward through its investment in large databases and research that fosters economic opportunities for all. SCAER makes a wide variety of research projects more accessible through its dedication to research database development.
As SCAER continually refines its innovations in data processing, its investments are yielding impactful discoveries, leading to lasting change and economic opportunities.
Story by Mary Pogue, senior copywriter, .
This piece was written for the 2023 SLU Research Institute Annual Impact Report. The Impact Report is printed each spring to celebrate the successes of our researchers from the previous year and share the story of SLU's rise as a preeminent research university. Design, photography, and some writing contributions are made by . More information on the Impact Report can be found here.