Computational communication science:
- Author(s)
- Annie Waldherr, Sandra Gonzales-Bailon, Martin Hilbert, George Barnett, Joshua Blumenstock, Noshir Contractor, Jana Diesner, Seth Frey, Jennifer Pan , Paul Smaldino, Jingwen Zhang, Wouter van Atteveldt, PJ Lamberso, Tai-Quan Peng, Cuihua (Cindy) Shen, Jonathan J.H. Zhu
- Abstract
This article reviews the opportunities and challenges for computational research methods in the field of communication. Among the social sciences, communication stands out as a discipline with a relatively low-profile institutionalized focus on the in-house development of methods. Computational tools are changing this, and they are catalyzing a new set of methods directly suited to tackling foundational research questions in communication. We systematically review how computational methods affect the three fundamental pillars of the scientific method: observational approaches (i.e., digital trace data), theoretical approaches (i.e., computer simulations), and experimental research (i.e., virtual labs and field experiments). We stress that data are a catalyzer but not a requirement for computational science. We explore how observational, theoretical, and experimental approaches can be combined and cross-fertilize one another. We conclude that taking advantage of computational methods will require a systematic effort in our discipline to develop and adjust these methods
- Organisation(s)
- External organisation(s)
- University of Pennsylvania, University of California, Davis, University of California, Berkeley, Northwestern University, Stanford University, University of California, Merced, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of California, Los Angeles, Michigan State University, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, City University of Hong Kong (CityU)
- Journal
- International Journal of Communication (IJoC)
- Volume
- 13
- Pages
- 3912-3934
- No. of pages
- 22
- ISSN
- 1932-8036
- Publication date
- 2019
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 508007 Communication science
- Portal url
- https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/en/publications/computational-communication-science(ddac984a-151b-4d0c-974c-5121487ecb70).html