DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN SOCIAL SCIENCEWHAT IS COMPUTATIONAL SOCIAL SCIENCE?

BY @LAURIELORANTA

@LAURIELORANTA

“In short, a computational social science is emerging [field] that leverages the capacity to collect and analyze data with an unprecedented breadth and depth and scale.” (Lazer et al. 2009.)Lazer, D. et al. 2009. Computational Social Science. Science. 6 February 2009: Vol. 323, no. 5915, pp. 721-723.

INCREASINGLY COMPLEX SOCIETY

THE BACKGROUND IMAGE “POINT AND LINE TO (MULTIPLE) PLANE(S).” RODRIGO CARVALHOIS UNDER NON COMMERCIAL CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE. SEE ORIGINAL IMAGE HERE. SEE LICENSE TERMS HERE.

INSTRUMENTAL REVOLUTION

THE BACKGROUND IMAGE “TATEL TELESCOPE” BY EP_JHUIS UNDER NON COMMERCIAL CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE.

SEE ORIGINAL IMAGE HERE. SEE LICENSE TERMS HERE.

IT IS FOREMOST AN

COMPUTER SCIENCE

SOCIAL SCIENCE

STATISTICS

COMPUTATIONAL SOCIAL SCIENCE

Time

More

Less

• Speed and performance of IT (CPU, RAM, Network)

• Access to IT / Internet

• Amount of data generated

• Cost of IT

BIG DATA & AUTOMATED INFROMATION EXTRACTION

SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS

COMPLEX SYSTEMS & MODELING

SIMULATION

1

2

3

4

FUNDAMENTAL CHANGES IN RESEARCH SETUP

THE BACKGROUND IMAGE “HOME VISIT” BY NICOLAS NOVAIS UNDER CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE.

SEE ORIGINAL IMAGE HERE. SEE LICENSE TERMS HERE.

MAJOR QUESTIONS REGARDING RESEARCH ETHICS THE BACKGROUND IMAGE “CAMÉRA DE SURVEILLANCE” BY TRISTAN NITOT

IS UNDER CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE. SEE ORIGINAL IMAGE HERE. SEE LICENSE TERMS HERE.

NOT A SILVER BULLET

COMPUTATIONAL SOCIAL SCIENCE IS

THE BACKGROUND IMAGE “9MM BULLET BW” BY AN NGUYENIS UNDER CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE.

SEE ORIGINAL IMAGE HERE. SEE LICENSE TERMS HERE.

Computational Social Science proposes revolutionary opportunities for the social sciences, but it has still some challenges in relation to methods, interdisciplinary cooperation and research ethics.

Thank You!

Questions and comments?

twitter: @laurieloranta

PS. Introduction to Computational Social Science will run again next autumn at the

University of Helsinki