Large, survey-based studies are a slow, expensive way to collect rigorous public health data. New research, focusing on alcohol use, shows that mining Twitter and online searches could enable public health professionals to get immediate, localized insights, spot emerging trends, and even measure the effects of interventions.

The study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, shows that online data closely match formal, large-scale surveillance data and could help monitor the effects of local alcohol control policies.

Read more about the study here.