Departmental Papers (ASC)

Document Type

Journal Article

Date of this Version

1-1-2013

Publication Source

Policy and Internet

Volume

5

Issue

2

Start Page

147

Last Page

160

DOI

10.1002/1944-2866.POI328

Abstract

Digital technologies keep track of everything we do and say while we are online, and we spend online an increasing portion of our time. Databases hidden behind web services and applications are constantly fed with information of our movements and communication patterns, and a significant dimension of our lives, quantified to unprecedented levels, gets stored in those vast online repositories. This article considers some of the implications of this torrent of data for social science research, and for the types of questions we can ask of the world we inhabit. The goal of the article is twofold: to explain why, in spite of all the data, theory still matters to build credible stories of what the data reveal; and to show how this allows social scientists to revisit old questions at the intersection of new technologies and disciplinary approaches. The article also considers how Big Data research can transform policymaking, with a focus on how it can help us improve communication and governance in policy-relevant domains.

Copyright/Permission Statement

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: González-Bailón, S. (2013). “Social Science in the Era of Big Data”, Policy & Internet, 5(2), 147- 160., which has been published in final form at [Link to final article using the 10.1002/1944-2866.POI328. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving [link to http://olabout.wiley.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-820227.html#terms].

Keywords

networks, complexity, interactions, social influence, public opinion, governance

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Date Posted: 27 March 2017

This document has been peer reviewed.