From January 21 to January 29, 2025, the Millennium Institute for Foundational Research on Data (IMFD), the National Center for Artificial Intelligence (CENIA), the Computer Science Department of the University of Chile, the Institute of Sociology of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (ISUC), and the Computational Research in Social Science Lab (CRiSS-LAB) at the Data Science Institute, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad del Desarrollo will host the Summer Institute in Computational Social Science (SICSS) at the Pontificia Universidad Católica, Campus San Joaquín. This program aims to bring together graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and early-career faculty who are interested in computational social science. It is open to both social scientists and data scientists from various fields. The institute offers a comprehensive instructional program that includes lectures, tutorials, hands-on exercises, and participant-led research projects. Additionally, guest speakers will share their expertise in computational social science.
Key Topics Covered
- Introduction to Computational Social Science and Data Science for Social Research: Gain insights into the historical context and theoretical foundations of computational social science (CSS). Learn about various methods for digital data collection, including surveys, experiments, APIs, and social media data, while addressing key ethical challenges such as privacy and bias.
- Machine Learning for Social Science: Understand the fundamentals of machine learning (supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning) and its applications in social sciences. Build predictive models and explore ethical considerations, such as fairness and algorithmic bias.
- Text Analysis and Natural Language Processing (NLP): Dive into sentiment analysis, topic modeling, and entity recognition. Analyze political discourse and social media interactions using cutting-edge NLP techniques like large language models (LLMs), with a focus on ethical implications.
- Complex Systems and Networks: Learn about graph theory and network analysis, with an emphasis on social network dynamics, information diffusion, and opinion dynamics. Apply these concepts to study political polarization in online networks.
- Agent-Based Modeling and Simulations: Master the basics of agent-based models (ABMs) and their use in simulating social phenomena such as segregation, cooperation, and conflict. Apply these models to simulate political polarization and validate them for social dynamics.
- Political Polarization and Ideology Quantification: Explore techniques for quantifying political ideology using text data and social media interactions. Learn to measure political polarization in both online and offline spaces. The program emphasizes interaction, allowing participants to discuss their research with organizers, fellow participants, and guest speakers. In keeping with our commitment to open and reproducible research, all materials produced during the Summer Institute will be available as open-source resources.
Who Should Apply
We welcome applications from graduate students (master’s and doctoral programs), postdoctoral researchers, and early-career faculty (within seven years of receiving their Ph.D.). Advanced undergraduate students with proven research experience or those pursuing graduate studies in relevant fields are also encouraged to apply. We especially encourage applications from individuals of diverse backgrounds and from groups currently underrepresented in computational social science. Approximately 25 participants will be selected, and full attendance during the two-week program is required.
Collective Output
One of the anticipated collective outputs of the Summer Institute is the creation of a collaborative research paper based on the work conducted during the workshops. Depending on the progress achieved, our goal is to apply the theoretical concepts and methodologies explored throughout the program to a research project with the potential to be submitted to the special issue on Collective Action (https://www.nature.com/collections/fgigeicjda) hosted by Nature Communications, Communications Psychology, and Scientific Reports. This special issue centers on how individuals and groups engage in social movements and collective actions to address pressing societal challenges. While submission to this issue will depend on the project’s development, it presents an exciting opportunity to contribute to global discussions on collective action and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The final paper will be co-authored by all participants, with each contribution fully acknowledged.
Application Deadline:
Application materials are due Friday, November 22, 2024 at 11:59 CLT.
Content of Previous Version
See the previous talks in the following list of videos.