Tyler Horan

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What I’ve Learned Teaching Computational Social Science at UMass Amherst

Teaching computational social science at UMass Amherst has been an eye-opening experience. UMass stands out for blending data science and social science in a way that few universities do, and my students come from diverse backgrounds—sociology, political science, economics, even the humanities—all eager to explore how coding, big data, and machine learning can illuminate complex social questions.

At first, many students approach the course with hesitation. Some doubt their technical abilit…

Why Every Sociologist Should Learn to Code

When I started studying sociology, I never imagined I’d end up writing Python scripts or running machine learning models. Like most sociologists, I was trained in interviews, surveys, and qualitative research—and I loved it. But as I dug deeper into my work, I realized something crucial: we’re living in a data-driven world, and sociology needs to keep up. That’s why I believe every sociologist should learn to code.

1. Sociology Needs to Go Beyond Surveys

Traditional methods…

Leveraging Big Data in Sociological Research: Opportunities and Challenges

<p>In recent years, the advent of big data has revolutionized various fields, and sociology is no exception. Big data, characterized by its volume, velocity, and variety, offers unprecedented opportunities for sociological research. This blog post explores how big data is changing the landscape of sociological studies, the potential it holds, and the ethical considerations it raises.</p><h3>The Big Data Revolution in Sociology</h3><p>Traditionally, sociological research relied on surveys, int…

Importance of Engineering for CSS

At the core, engineering skills provide the technical foundation necessary for handling and analyzing the huge data sets synonymous with CSS. Mastery of programming languages such as Python or R, experience with database management, and a deep understanding of algorithms and data structures are some of the essential tools in the computational social scientist’s kit. These skills facilitate the extraction of meaningful insights from data, thereby transforming raw data into a rich tapestry of u…

Why Computational Social Science?

In recent years, the melding of computational tools with social science has given birth to an exciting new discipline: Computational Social Science (CSS). By harnessing the power of algorithms, machine learning, and big data analytics, CSS unveils complex social phenomena in a way that traditional methods could scarcely dream of. This interdisciplinary field is at the confluence of computer science and social science, embodying a promising frontier for understanding the intricacies of human b…