The Social Science and Social Media Collaborative

Have established models of social and political processes lost their predictive power?

Recent events, such as incorrect predictions of the 2016 election outcome and the spread of misinformation, present an opportunity to challenge old models with new sources of data.

The abundance of data from social media presents an opportunity to understand social and political trends better.

But first, researchers must address issues concerning the use of this data. Is it representative? Are users honest about their thoughts? Is the collection and processing of the data unbiased and accurate?

This study incorporates five parallel projects to address these issues and harness the opportunity to use new data to gain a better understanding of social and political phenomena.

Methodology

Methodological issues surrounding social surveys and from social media

Political Communication

Political communication patterns and their effects on political choices and behavior in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections

Parenting

Parenting information and misinformation shared through online and social communication

Misinformation

What types of misinformation “sticks” and how does it spread on social media

Economic Indicators

Developing economic indicators using social media data

Each of the five projects have specific substantive focus areas, but are linked through the use of data science methods, big data resources, and the use of high performance computing.

What’s New

Analysis & Visualization Meeting Held Online

Analysis & Visualization Meeting Held Online

S3MC researchers working on The Future of Quantitative Research in Social Science: Integrating Social Science and Computer Science Methods project held their final workshop about social media methodology in March. To learn more about this meeting or the project in...

Model Construction Meeting Held Online

Model Construction Meeting Held Online

S3MC researchers working on The Future of Quantitative Research in Social Science: Integrating Social Science and Computer Science Methods project held their fourth workshop about social media methodology in January. To learn more about this meeting or the project in...

Sampling Convergence Meeting Held Online

Sampling Convergence Meeting Held Online

S3MC researchers working on The Future of Quantitative Research in Social Science: Integrating Social Science and Computer Science Methods project held their third workshop about social media methodology in November. To learn more about this meeting or the project in...

Measurement Convergence Meeting Held Online

Measurement Convergence Meeting Held Online

S3MC researchers working on The Future of Quantitative Research in Social Science: Integrating Social Science and Computer Science Methods project held their second workshop about social media methodology in September. To learn more about this meeting or the project...

Misinformation and the Impact of Social Media in Elections

Misinformation and the Impact of Social Media in Elections

Lisa Singh and Ceren Budak presented virtually for an event hosted by the McCourt school's Massive Data Institute and the Institute of Politics and Public Service (GU Politics) about the impact of misinformation in the 2016 election and what it could mean for the...