Tackling Big Questions Using Social Data Science

Big data can help us provide answers to fundamental social questions, from poverty and social mobility, to climate change, migration, and the spread of disease. But making sense of data requires more than just statistical techniques: it calls for models of how humans behave and interact with each other. Social data science combines the analysis of big data with social science theory. We will take a project-oriented, many models-many methods approach. This course will introduce students to a variety of models and methods used across the social sciences, including tools such as game theoretical models, network models, models of diffusion and contagion, agent based models, model simulations, machine learning and causal inference. Students will apply these tools to tackle important topics in guided projects. Prerequisite is Econ 102A, Polisci 150A or equivalent.