Modern computational tools hold a lot of potential for reimaging the types of social science questions we can ask and answer. Yet getting started with these methods can be daunting. This Spark Talk will discuss how to approach computational social science, reflect on the fundamental intuition underlying many computational methods, and provide tips and advice for getting started with your computational social science journey.

Dr. Sarah Shugars is a computational social scientist who develops new methods in natural language processing, network analysis, and machine learning in order to better understand how people talk and reason about political issues. They are currently a Faculty Fellow at NYU’s Center for Data Science (CDS) and a Research Fellow at George Washington University’s School of Media & Public Affairs.