Skip to main content
Article
Assessing the Validity of Automated Webcrawlers as Data Collection Tools to Investigate Online Child Sexual Exploitation
Sexual Abuse (2015)
  • Bryce Garreth Westlake, San Jose State University
  • Martin Bouchard, Simon Fraser University
  • Richard Frank, Simon Fraser University
Abstract
The distribution of child sexual exploitation (CE) material has been aided by the growth of the Internet. The graphic nature and prevalence of the material has made researching and combating difficult. Although used to study online CE distribution, automated data collection tools (e.g., webcrawlers) have yet to be shown effective at targeting only relevant data. Using CE-related image and keyword criteria, we compare networks starting from CE websites to those from similar non-CE sexuality websites and dissimilar sports websites. Our results provide evidence that (a) webcrawlers have the potential to provide valid CE data, if the appropriate criterion is selected; (b) CE distribution is still heavily image-based suggesting images as an effective criterion; (c) CE-seeded networks are more hub-based and differ from non-CE-seeded networks on several website characteristics. Recommendations for improvements to reliable criteria selection are discussed. 
Keywords
  • Webcrawler,
  • Automated Data Collection,
  • Child Sexual Exploitation,
  • Child Pornography,
  • Cybercrime
Disciplines
Publication Date
November 26, 2015
DOI
10.1177/1079063215616818
Publisher Statement
This is an Author's Original pre-refereed Manuscript of an article whose final and definitive form, the Version of Record, has been published in Sexual Abuse, volume 29, issue 7, 2017. Find the published version of this article at this link.
Citation Information
Bryce Garreth Westlake, Martin Bouchard and Richard Frank. "Assessing the Validity of Automated Webcrawlers as Data Collection Tools to Investigate Online Child Sexual Exploitation" Sexual Abuse Vol. 29 Iss. 7 (2015) p. 685 - 708 ISSN: 1573-286X
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/bryce_westlake/7/