ABSTRACT

The Handbook of Computational Social Science is a comprehensive reference source for scholars across multiple disciplines. It outlines key debates in the field, showcasing novel statistical modeling and machine learning methods, and draws from specific case studies to demonstrate the opportunities and challenges in CSS approaches.

The Handbook is divided into two volumes written by outstanding, internationally renowned scholars in the field. This first volume focuses on the scope of computational social science, ethics, and case studies. It covers a range of key issues, including open science, formal modeling, and the social and behavioral sciences. This volume explores major debates, introduces digital trace data, reviews the changing survey landscape, and presents novel examples of computational social science research on sensing social interaction, social robots, bots, sentiment, manipulation, and extremism in social media. The volume not only makes major contributions to the consolidation of this growing research field but also encourages growth in new directions.

With its broad coverage of perspectives (theoretical, methodological, computational), international scope, and interdisciplinary approach, this important resource is integral reading for advanced undergraduates, postgraduates, and researchers engaging with computational methods across the social sciences, as well as those within the scientifi c and engineering sectors.

section Section I|153 pages

The scope and boundaries of CSS

chapter 5|17 pages

Computational communication science

Lessons from working group sessions with experts of an emerging research field

chapter 7|19 pages

Digital trace data

Modes of data collection, applications, and errors at a glance

section Section II|48 pages

Privacy, ethics, and politics in CSS research

section Section III|163 pages

Case studies and research examples

chapter 16|31 pages

Understanding political sentiment

Using Twitter to map the U.S. 2016 Democratic primaries

chapter 19|19 pages

A picture is (still) worth a thousand words

The impact of appearance and characteristic narratives on people's perceptions of social robots

chapter 20|20 pages

Data quality and privacy concerns in digital trace data

Insights from a Delphi study on machine learning and robots in human life

chapter 21|10 pages

Effective fight against extremist discourse online

The case of ISIS's propaganda