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 three parallel projects to address these issues and harness the opportunity to use new data to gain a better understanding of social and political phenomena.
Survey 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 presidential election
Parenting
Parenting information and misinformation shared through online and social communication
Each of the three 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
MIDAS Accepting Applicants for Data Science Fellows Program
The Michigan Institute for Data Science (MIDAS), which funds S3MC, is seeking applications for its Michigan Data Science Fellows (DS Fellows) Program. The DS Fellows Program offers an outstanding opportunity for postdoctoral researchers to develop skills in data...
ISR launches Data Science Portal
S3MC is featured on the newly-launched ISR Data Science Portal, which will serve as a hub for the data science and big data research being conducted at ISR. The site highlights both the Parenting project and the Political Communication project, each of which is...
Forthcoming Book: Words That Matter
Research conducted by the Political Communication project will be published in Words that Matter: How the News and Social Media Shaped the 2016 Presidential Campaign in May 2020. Words that Matter assesses how the news media covered the extraordinary 2016 election...
Political Communication Meets Big Data
Mike Traugott, Ceren Budak, Lisa O. Singh, and Jonathan Ladd presented findings from the S3MC Political Communications study at the Michigan Institute for Data Science (MIDAS) Seminar on November 14, 2019. The panel discussion, moderated by Rayid Ghani, covered...
S3MC researcher Ceren Budak is among first to study Facebook data
Ceren Budak and her team are one of 12 inaugural recipients of Social Science Research Council and Social Science One grants to conduct independent research on social media’s impact on democracy using privacy-protected Facebook data.
Pamela Davis-Kean appointed MIDAS Associate Director for Humanities and Social Sciences
S3MC member Pamela Davis-Kean is the new Associate Director for Humanities and Social Sciences at the Michigan Institute for Data Science
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