How Facebook, Twitter and other data troves are revolutionizing social science

How Facebook, Twitter and other data troves are revolutionizing social science

Big data revolutionizes social sciences The masses of user data collected by technology companies are providing social scientists with tools to do studies they have been dreaming about for more than a century: from the psychology of morality, to how misinformation spreads, to the factors that make some artists more successful than others. The goldmine of information has produced controversies and raised privacy concerns. And part of the community is resisting the flood in “a power struggle within the social-science camp”, says analytical sociologist Marc Keuschnigg. “Who in the end succeeds will claim the label of the social sciences.” Nature | 11 min read