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Shah, D.V., Cappella, J.N., and Neuman, W.R. (2015). Big Data, Digital Media, and Computational Social Science: Possibilities and Perils. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 659 (1): 6–13.

Learning Objective: LO 2-3: Identify key methods of sociological research and when it is appropriate to use them.

Summary: Considering the increased availability of structured and unstructured data created by the onset of social and digital media, this article presents possibilities for organizing and analyzing new forms of data to uncover individual behaviors and new social interaction patterns.

Questions to Consider:

1. How do “big data” collected using social and digital media differ from prior conceptions of quantitative data? Why is this distinction necessary in designing social and behavioral research?
2. What are some of the ethical considerations to collecting and analyzing data gathered from “naturally occurring” social and digital media sources?
3. As social and digital data are collected from online forums and user systems, what are some concerns or limitations regarding the representative for patterns in the general population?