Pioneering and computing new space for social science research

Fifteen scholars including David Razel, a professor of political science and computer science in Northeast China, published a joint signature article entitled "Calculation Social Science" in the 323rd "Science" magazine in 2009. This article proposes that various behaviors of human beings have left records in the era of electronization. The laws contained in these data on individual and group behaviors are enough to change our awareness of personal life, organizations and even the entire society. With the development of computing power, human beings can respond to a large number of human social data, and this is difficult for traditional quantitative social science research. At this time, the calculation of social sciences came into being. The academic community generally believes that this article has officially proposed the concept of "computing social sciences" for the first time.

Pioneering macro research field

After more than ten years of development, computing the application field of social sciences from social network analysis and group formation, extended to collective behavior, complex system evolution, and macro and micro -micro studies. Many fields such as learning, population statistics, and population research have a profound impact on social science research.

With the support of big data, calculating social science can effectively analyze consumer behavior and provide personalized services for them. Wang Guocheng, a researcher at the Institute of Economics and Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that human behavior in today's Internet society has changed significantly compared with independent individual decisions, and a single line in traditional theories is exposed to great limitations Essence Through a large amount of data left by comprehensive analysis and calculation traces, the original elusive human social activities can be quantified, parsed and insight, and can even be highly predicted and controlled. Calculating social sciences can capture, obtain and handle large -scale data on human behavior and social operations in order to obtain a deeper and accurate understanding of human society, economy and politics.

Different from the research path of social science from theoretical to methods, calculating social sciences can study people's behavior and some characteristics of people's behavior and their social activities. Luo Jiade, director of the Social Network Research Center of Tsinghua University, believes that in the past, in the process of theoretical construction, social sciences generally rely on logical deduction, theoretical development, assumption established, investigating and statistical verification. In the era of big data, we have sufficient data to establish a predictive model from the data and find prediction variables in the prediction model to develop theory. In the past, due to the small amount of data in the survey and the short tracking period, it was difficult to establish a predictive model and conducted exploration and research. Now, big data has brought us sufficient data, and there are many years of network data, which provides more possibilities for theoretical exploration and theoretical verification at the same time. Calculating the use of social network analysis, simulation modeling, machine learning and other means to study the research on big data and multi -source complex data, so that our time and space boundary of the distance can be expanded unprecedented. In the past, the complicated social network data of tens of millions of people could not be imagined at all, and today's big data enables us to build a model that is a common evolution of behavior and social network structure. The theory of non -linear evolution of complex systems can be verified and developed.

To some extent, calculating social sciences can make people develop social phenomena in a more macro vision, realize the integration of micro -mechanisms and macro evolution mechanisms, and make panoramic reconstruction of human behavior and social phenomena. However, calculating whether social sciences can effectively portray the operation of social systems and effectively analyze social facts, and need to be discussed further.

Enhanced interdisciplinary research capabilities

The biggest challenge currently facing the development of social sciences is derived from the limitations of people's thinking cognition and the restraint of the professional knowledge framework of the original discipline. Wang Guocheng proposed that we want to jump out of the traditional discipline framework, adopt multiple interdisciplinary thinking, and use problems and tasks to distinguish the research field of social sciences. We must actively promote some inherent characteristics and rules of technical and social activities such as big data, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality to better integrate, and realize the substantial innovation of social science theoretical research. In addition, special attention should be paid to computing the privacy issues facing data collection and results release.

Chen Yinque once said: "The academic in the first time must have its new materials and new problems. Take this material to study the problem, then the new trend of academic academics in this era. The pre -flow. It is not pre -pre -stream. "The academic development is advancing with the times. For the study of the study of social sciences, while maintaining the advantages of traditional research methods, we must also be digitalized Under the social system, use new materials, find new problems, and open up new methods to promote the transformation of social science research paradigms.

Meng Xiaofeng, director of the Social Computing and Social Intelligence Specialist Committee of the Chinese Artificial Intelligence Society, proposed that calculating social sciences can only be based on the sustainable development of society, and is committed to new areas such as people and social reconstruction, tough social construction, and other new fields can finally build a data governance system , Open sharing system and the social intelligence system that play an irreplaceable role. But while advocating the calculation of social science research, we must adhere to the theoretical thinking and qualitative and quantitative research methods of social science. Based on the research methods and research results of digital society, open up new research territories and research results, and form a complementary and co -governance situation with traditional social science research.

It is foreseeable that the impact of computing social sciences on the field of philosophy and social sciences will become wider and fascinating.However, in the process of using technologies such as big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence in social science research, computing social sciences must be based on the advantages accumulated by the discipline, enhance cross -disciplinary research capabilities, and guide problems and tasks to strengthen the construction of interdisciplinary disciplines.The cross -layer logic and rules conversion of the cross, smelling "new methods" in research, found "new applications" in exploring practice.Source: China Social Science Network-Journal of Social Sciences of China

Author: Sun Meijuan

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