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Pew Research Center’s Data Labs was created in 2015 to add computational social science (CSS) capacity to the Center’s research portfolio. Made up of data scientists, engineers, and CSS researchers, Data Labs’ mission is to use novel methods and data sources to produce innovative social science research that is accessible to the informed public. In this talk, Computational Social Scientist, Sam Bestvater, will provide an introduction to Data Labs’ substantive research, methodological toolkit, and role within Pew Research Center, and will discuss some of the advantages and challenges of computational approaches to social science research. Along the way, the talk will provide an overview of recent projects from the Data Labs team, covering a range of topics including social media usage among the American public, content and guest appearances on popular podcasts, and how spatial patterns of public charging infrastructure affect attitudes towards EV adoption. 

Dr. Samuel Bestvater is a Computational Social Scientist at Pew Research Center in Washington DC, where he researches topics at the intersection of technology, social media, political behavior, and computational methodology. A political scientist by training, Dr. Bestvater holds an MA in Political Science from Indiana University and a PhD in Political Science and Social Data Analytics from the Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Bestvater’s research has appeared in Political Analysis, Journal of Peace Research, Conflict Management and Peace Science, and in the Proceedings of the International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media as well as in published reports from Pew Research Center.

Sponsored by: Government Department

Contact

Heather Scully, Department of Government

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