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Look Back – GESIS Fall Seminar in Computational Social Science 2022


Categories: GESIS Training

A Look Back – GESIS Fall Seminar in Computational Social Science 2022

Following the successful launch of the GESIS Fall Seminar in Computational Social Science in 2021, 2022 saw us expanding the Fall Seminar program to a total of nine one-week courses on computational social science methods and techniques. From 5 to 23 September 2022, participants could choose from a variety of introductory and advanced courses on the foundations of working with digital behavioral data, data collection and management, and data analysis.

Courses in Week 1 featured our popular “Introduction to Computational Social Science” courses, both with R – taught by Aleksandra Urman (University of Zurich) and Max Pellert (Sony Computer Science Lab Rome) – and Python – taught by Milena Tsvetkova and Patrick Gildersleve (both London School of Economics) –, as well as the newly introduced “Tools for Efficient Workflows, Smooth Collaboration and Optimized Research Outputs” by Julia Schulte-Cloos (European University Institute Florence) and Lukas Lehner (University of Oxford). Week 2 revolved around topics of data collection and management. Returning with their successful 2021 course, Theresa Gessler (European University Viadrina) and Hauke Licht (University of Cologne) brought participants up to speed about “Automated Web Data Collection with R”, while our GESIS colleagues Felix Soldner, Jun Sun, and Leon Fröhling premiered the Python equivalent. For those who plan to work with large quantities of data, Rainer Gemulla and Adrian Kochsiek (both University of Mannheim) offered “Big Data Management and Analytics,” covering how to work with database systems for (non-)relational data. Finally, Week 3 revolved around different techniques for analyzing digital behavioral data, with David Schoch and Termeh Shafie (both GESIS Cologne) showing participants how to do “Network Analysis in R,” Damian Trilling and Anne Kroon (both University of Amsterdam) giving an “Introduction to Machine Learning for Text Analysis in Python,” and Andreu Casas and Felicia Loecherbach (both Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) sharing their expertise on “Automated Image and Video Data Analysis.”

After more than two years of COVID-related hiatus, the 2022 Fall Seminar was the first major GESIS Training event of returning to on-site teaching fully. Participants much enjoyed the social aspects of the in-person event with its ample networking opportunities and the chance to explore the new GESIS premises as well as the city of Mannheim.

Not only the social environment but also all courses were rated very highly by participants: More than 9 out of 10 participants stated they were (very) satisfied with their course, and a whopping 94% said they would take part in future GESIS Training events. Participants particularly emphasized the vast knowledge of the lectures, their readiness to give individual feedback and support, and the hands-on nature of the courses. They also greatly appreciated the “positive and open atmosphere” and that the courses “brought a totally new perspective” while at the same time being “suitable for social scientists from many backgrounds.” To quote one participant in “Introduction to Computational Social Science with R”: “[I liked] everything; it was just the perfect combination of input, discussion, exercises alone, and group exercises.” A big THANK YOU to our fabulous lecturers for their commitment and to our participants for placing their trust in us!

Save the date: The next GESIS Fall Seminar in Computational Social Science will take place from 11 to 29 September 2023 in Mannheim. We will announce the full program in Spring 2023.