At its June 2015 meeting, RSF’s board of trustees approved the creation of a new working group on computational social science that will explore how “big data” can expand our understanding of social issues and improve research methods in the social sciences.

Rapid technological advances over the last few decades have increased access to large and comprehensive data sources, such as public and private administrative databases, as well as new sources of information, including online transactions, social media interactions, and internet searches. This proliferation of “big data” makes it possible for social scientists to empirically analyze the political and economic behavior of far greater numbers of individuals and firms, over much longer periods of time, than ever before. This data boom has allowed researchers to gain new insights into such issues as social inequality, political polarization, and the influence of money in politics.

RSF’s Computational Social Science working group will support innovative research that brings new forms of data and analysis and new methods to questions of interest in the foundation’s core programs in Social Inequality, Behavioral Economics, Future of Work, and Race, Ethnicity and Immigration. A call for proposals is scheduled to be released in fall 2016.

Click here to read more about the Computational Social Science working group.