Key concepts

• Typical stages in an empirical research (Ma et al., 2021)
• Data management and concept representation (Ma et al., 2021)
• How to apply these methods in empirical research: Network analysis, Machine learning, Natural Language Processing (Ma et al., 2021)
• The End of Theory (Anderson, JUN 23, 2008 12:00 PM; Mazzocchi, 2015)

Before class

Required reading:

1. Ma, J., Ebeid, I. A., de Wit, A., Xu, M., Yang, Y., Bekkers, R., & Wiepking, P. (2021). Computational Social Science for Nonprofit Studies: Developing a Toolbox and Knowledge Base for the Field. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-021-00414-x
2. Anderson, C. (JUN 23, 2008 12:00 PM). The End of Theory: The Data Deluge Makes the Scientific Method Obsolete. Wired. https://web.archive.org/web/20221005015922/https://www.wired.com/2008/06/pb-theory/
3. Mazzocchi, F. (2015). Could Big Data Be the End of Theory in Science? EMBO Reports, 16(10), 1250–1255. https://doi.org/10.15252/embr.201541001

Recommended reading: Big data and social science research, perspectives from philosophy and epistemology

• Leonelli, S. (2020). Scientific Research and Big Data. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2020). Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2020/entries/science-big-data/

In class

• Take the pre-lecture survey here.
• Take the End of Semester Concept Review.

Empirical studies as examples

TBD.