ABSTRACT
The integration of big data in sociology, especially in the burgeoning subfield of quantitative sociology, has begun to rejuvenate macro-level analysis. In this chapter, we propose a new field of theory-guided quantitative macrosociology that utilizes big-data analytics to build credible research. This novel approach can help sociologists move beyond the confines of macro-research—with its limited use of data analysis for statistical inference—and micro-research—with its reliance on limited and individualized surveyed samples—toward a combined approach that examines macro-level robustness in the social world and uncovers new dimensions of social process and context with unusually rich spatial and temporal dynamics.
