Computational social science: Obstacles and opportunities

This study examines the obstacles and opportunities around data sharing between big tech and academia. Current applications of computational social science (CSS) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic is the perfect example of the potential of this field (e.g., partnerships between researchers and companies to produce insights regarding the trajectory of the disease). However, many institutional structures around the field—including research ethics, pedagogy, and data infrastructure—are lagging.

This research highlights how the combination of academic, industrial, and governmental collaboration and dedicated scientific infrastructure will solve important problems for society—saving lives; improving national security; enhancing economic prosperity; nurturing inclusion, diversity, equity, and access; bolstering democracy; etc.