Description
Book SynopsisWhilst providing a fundamental understanding of computational social science, this book delves into the tools and techniques used to build familiarity with programming and gain context into how, why and when they are introduced. The overall focus is on helping you understand and design computational social science research, alongside delving into hands-on coding and technical instruction.
Key features include:
- Further reading
- Exercises accompanied by sample code
- Programming examples in Scratch, Python and R
- Key concepts
- Chapter summaries
With experience in course design and teaching, Matti Nelimarkka has a deep understanding of learning techniques within computational social sciences, with the main aim of blending researching, thinking and designing together to gain a grounded foundation for coding, programming, methodologies and key concepts.
Trade ReviewMatti Nelimarkka’s Coding Social Science is ambitious and wide-ranging. It is among the first to provide a detailed exposition of what it means for a social scientist to think computationally. The wealth of applied examples it unpacks is at once a rich resource and testament to the diversity of this field. Nelimarkka also helps to organise our thinking when it comes to what this field actually is through his attention to the conceptual underpinnings of computational inquiry. Most impressively, the book provides solutions to programmatic problems across three languages—a gift for any instructor trying to demystify coding for the budding computational social scientist. -- Christopher Barrie
A comprehensive and practical reference for social scientists who want to go computational, with many whats and hows, without forgetting the nots – a book to read, to think, and to use! -- Matteo Magnani
Table of ContentsNew kind of social science requires new skills Computational Thinking, Algorithms and Writing Code Data Science Network Analysis Data Structures Simulations and Complex Systems Interactive Systems Best Practice for Software Development Computation and Data: Collection, Storage and Manipulation Computational Social Science Research Ethics in Computational Social Science Mistakes and Quality of Results in Computational Social Sciences Integrating Computational Methods in Research
