Use case
Academic Research proxies
Collect public web data for studies, and compare how the web looks in different countries.
Below is a practical guide to academic research with ProxyOnly: a workflow, the proxy types that fit, how to pick countries, the mistakes to avoid and the numbers worth tracking. Start from a balance of one US dollar.
- Use case
- Academic Research
- Suggested types
- Datacenter, ISP
- Countries in stock
- 63
- Minimum balance
- US$1
What academic research with proxies means
The goal is to collect public web data for studies and compare how websites differ between countries. This page explains how teams do it with ProxyOnly proxies, which proxy types fit, how to choose countries, and what usually goes wrong.
This work is typically done by university researchers, students and institutes that study the web, media, prices or public information.
How to approach academic research
A reliable process matters more than any single setting. The steps below are a good starting point, and you can adapt them to your own tools.
- Write down the research question and the sample of pages or sites that answers it.
- Read the terms of each site and check with your ethics board if human data could be involved.
- Collect the pages through a proxy in each country, with the same tool and the same timing for every country.
- Store raw pages with timestamps and the exit country, so that the study can be repeated.
- Document the method in enough detail for others to reproduce it.
Which proxy types suit academic research
Different types suit different targets. Start with the cheapest one that could work, measure the success rate and move up only if the results justify the cost.
Datacenter proxies: A low-cost way to collect a large public sample. Prices start at US$0.08 per IP.
ISP proxies: Better for sites that refuse datacenter ranges. Prices start at US$2.60 per IP.
Choosing the country
Choose countries that fit the study design, and use the same method everywhere so that differences come from the sites and not from your tools.
ProxyOnly stocks proxies in 63 countries, and you choose the country with -country-xx in the username or when you order. The locations directory shows live stock and prices for each one.
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
These are the problems that cost teams the most time.
- Collecting at different times in different countries introduces bias. Collect in parallel.
- Lookup databases disagree about location. Verify the exit and report how.
- Personal data raises ethical and legal questions. Get advice before you collect it.
What to measure
Without measurement you cannot tell whether a change helped. Track at least these figures for academic research.
- Sample size by country
- Collection success rate
- Missing data by site
Connect your tools
Every ProxyOnly proxy is an HTTP proxy with a username and password, so it works with almost any tool. This request confirms your credentials before you build anything on top of them.
curl -x http://proxy.proxyonly.com:8000 -U "username-country-us:password" https://httpbin.org/ipDoing it responsibly
Collect public data lawfully, follow your institution's ethics rules, and do not collect personal data without a legal basis.
Which proxy type fits any country
Pick the proxy type from the job rather than the price. Here is how the types we sell compare, so you can match one to your work in any country:
Datacenter IPv4. The default choice for most jobs. These are dedicated IPv4 addresses hosted in a datacenter, fast and inexpensive, and the best fit for high-volume reading of public pages, monitoring and automation. Some websites treat datacenter ranges more cautiously than consumer connections, so test your target before you commit to a long rental.
ISP proxies. Static addresses that are registered to an internet service provider rather than a hosting company. They keep the speed of datacenter hardware and look more like an ordinary home or office connection, which helps with destinations that are strict about hosting ranges.
Shared IPv4. A shared address is used by more than one customer and costs less. It suits light tasks, quick checks and testing where a clean, exclusive address is not essential.
IPv6. IPv6 addresses are very cheap and plentiful, and they work well with destinations that serve IPv6 traffic, such as many large search, video and social platforms. Many smaller sites are still IPv4 only, so check that your target supports IPv6 before you buy.
Mobile proxies. Addresses from mobile carrier networks. Many phones share the same carrier address, so websites tend to be tolerant of this traffic, which makes mobile proxies the right choice for testing mobile ads, apps and landing pages. They cost more than datacenter addresses.
Residential proxies. Addresses from home internet connections, billed by the amount of traffic you use and not by the IP. They suit light, bursty jobs on sites that block datacenter and ISP ranges. Heavy traffic gets expensive quickly, so estimate your monthly volume first.
If you are unsure, rent one address of the type you think you need, run your real task against it for a day, and look at the success rate. Because rental periods start at a few days, trying a type costs very little.
Using proxies responsibly in any country
A proxy is a networking tool and it is lawful in most places, but what you do with it still has to be lawful and fair. Follow the laws that apply to you and to the place you send traffic to, read the terms of the sites you visit, honour robots rules and rate limits, and never use an address to access accounts or data that are not yours. ProxyOnly cannot give legal advice, and our acceptable use policy applies to every order.
In practice that means reading public pages, checking your own sites and ads, and testing your own products. If a task would be unwelcome to the site owner when done by hand, it is unwelcome when done through a proxy too.
Frequently asked questions
Can researchers use proxies?
Yes, for lawful collection of public data. Follow your institution's ethics rules and the sites' terms.
How do I make the method reproducible?
Log the date, the exit country, the tool version and the raw pages.
Which proxy should I buy for academic research?
Datacenter proxies are a good first choice. A low-cost way to collect a large public sample.
How do I start?
Create an account, add a balance from one US dollar, order a proxy in the country you need and test it with curl before you build on it.
Ready to try it?
Create an account, add funds from US$1 and pick your country and proxy type.