Abaphengululi bachonga idatha yabafundi kwi-Facebook, badibanisa neirekhodi zeyunivesithi, basebenzise le nkcukacha edibeneyo yophando, baza babelana nabanye abaphandi.
Ukususela ngo-2006, unyaka ngamnye, iqela labafundisi kunye nabancedisi bezophando lathintela iingxelo ze-Facebook zamalungu eKlasi ka-2009 kwi "kholeji yangasese eyahlukeneyo e-Northeastern US" Abaphandi badibanisa le nkcukacha kwi-Facebook, ebandakanya ulwazi malunga nobuhlobo kunye neenkcubeko ezithandayo, kunye neenkcukacha ezivela kwikholejini, ezibandakanya ulwazi malunga neemfundo eziphezulu kunye nabafundi abahlala kwi-campus. Iinkcukacha ezidibeneyo ziyimithombo ebalulekileyo, kwaye zazisetyenziselwa ukudala ulwazi olutsha malunga nezihloko ezifana nendlela yokunxibelelana kwezentlalo (Wimmer and Lewis 2010) kunye nendlela intanethi yokuziphatha kunye nokuziphatha kuguquke ngayo (Lewis, Gonzalez, and Kaufman 2012) . Ukongezelela ekusebenziseni le datha kumsebenzi wabo, abaPhando, amaTyhu, kunye nabaPhicotho bexesha bawenza ukuba bafumaneke kwabanye abaphandi, emva kokuthatha amanyathelo okukhusela ubumfihlo babantu (Lewis et al. 2008) .
Ngelishwa, iintsuku nje emva kokuba idatha ifumaneke, abanye abaphandi banqunyulwa ukuba isikolo esibuzwayo yiHarvard College (Zimmer 2010) . Abacwaningi, amaTyhu, kunye nabaPhezulu bexesha baxholwa "ukungaphumeleli kokumelana nemigangatho yokucwaninga ngokwemigaqo" (Zimmer 2010) ngenxalenye kuba abafundi bebangeke banike imvume yemvume (zonke iinkqubo zahlaziywa kwaye zavunywa yi-IRB ne-Facebook). Ukongeza kokugxeka abavela kwizifundo, amanqaku epapasho avela ngeentloko ezifana "nabaPhandi baHarvard batyholwa ngokubaBufihla abafundi" (Parry 2011) . Ekugqibeleni, i dataset isuswe kwi-intanethi, kwaye ayisayi kusetyenziswa abanye abaphandi.