Design and implementation of a data analytics infrastructure in support of crisis informatics research: NIER track

Crisis informatics is an emerging research area that studies how information and communication technology (ICT) is used in emergency response. An important branch of this area includes investigations of how members of the public make use of ICT to aid them during mass emergencies. Data collection and analytics during crisis events is a critical pre-requisite for performing such research, as the data generated during these events on social media networks are ephemeral and easily lost. We report on the current state of a crisis informatics data analytics infrastructure that we are developing in support of a broader, interdisciplinary research program. We also comment on the role that software engineering research plays in these increasingly common, highly-interdisciplinary research efforts.