Box-Steffensmeier, J.M., Burgess, J., Corbetta, M. et al. The future of human behaviour research. Nat Hum Behav 6, 15–24 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01275-6
Human behaviour is complex and multifaceted, and is studied by a broad range of disciplines across the social and natural sciences. To mark the 5th anniversary of "Nature Human Behavior", leading scientists in some of the key disciplines share their vision of the future of research in their disciplines.
They underscore how important it is to broaden the scope of their disciplines to increase ecological validity and diversity of representation, in order to address pressing societal challenges that range from new technologies, modes of interaction and sociopolitical upheaval to disease, poverty, hunger, inequality and climate change. Taken together, these contributions highlight how achieving progress in each discipline will require incorporating insights and methods from others, breaking down disciplinary silos.
Prof. Dr. Claudia Wagner was asked to assess the research area "Computational Social Science":
First, we need to establish privacy-preserving, shared data infrastructures that collect and triangulate survey data with scientifically motivated organic or designed observational data from diverse populations. [...]
Second, best practices and scientific infrastructures are needed for supporting the development, evaluation and re-use of measurements and the critical reflection on potentially harmful consequences of measurements. [...]
Finally, the fusion of algorithmic and human behaviour invites us to rethink the various ways in which data, measurements and social theories can be connected. [...]