Social Science Space

In an age where issues of ethnicity and identity matter, as well, as in the United States, political representation, the import and impact of censuses, along with how they are structured, carried out and analyzed, matters greatly. And with the U.S. Census being conducted this year – today, April 1, is Census Day, although coronavirus-marred collection of data will continue until August 14 – this is an apt time to talk with author Andrew Whitby about censuses past, present and future.

As part of a pioneering effort to systematically use privacy-protected Facebook data to study the platform’s impact on democracy, the Social Science Research Council and its partner Social Science One have named the inaugural recipients of the Social Media and Democracy Research Grants.

The Social Science Research Council’s Social Data Initiative, which aims to provide the social science research community with secure, reliable access to proprietary social media data, is seeking the first requests for proposals for its Social Media and Democracy Research Grants competition in collaboration with Social Science One.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently acknowledged his company’s responsibility in helping create the enormous amount of fake news that plagued the 2016 election – after earlier denials. Yet he offered no concrete details on what Facebook could do about it. Fortunately, there’s a way to fight fake news that already exists and has behavioral science on its side: the Pro-Truth Pledge project.

This stark contrast between the internet’s light and dark sides has become a defining characteristic of the digital age, writes Timo Hannay founder SchoolDash, but is not an inevitable consequence of the mostly innocuous technologies on which it’s built. Rather, it is the product of their bewilderingly diverse and eccentric user base – otherwise known as humanity.

We spoke with social-science ethicists about how well Facebook’s initiative appears to protect users’ privacy. They’re skeptical, but still eager to see Facebook data studied.

Ever wondered who’s behind the work at Human Resource Development Review (HRDR)? Or perhaps anticipate what will be in the […]

How can the public learn the role of algorithms in their daily lives, evaluating the law and ethicality of systems like the Facebook News Feed, search engines, or airline booking systems? Earlier this month Harvard University’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society hosted a conversation about the idea of social science audits of algorithms, and J. Nathan Matias reports on the discourse.

Facebook’s unannounced study using its users’ newsfeeds offers a case study in research ethics: where did it lie of the spectrum from ‘ho harm, no foul’ or to an unacceptable violation of participants’ rights? Ethicist David Hunter examines.

[Editor’s Note: We are pleased to welcome Chad H. Van Iddekinge who collaborated with Stephen E. Lanivich, Philip L. Roth, […]

A new study of an admittedly small group suggests the public may be getting a little twitchy about the use of their personal messages for public investigation.

Editor’s note: We are pleased to welcome Linchi Kwok, assistant professor of Hospitality Management in the David B. Falk College […]