Social science increasingly uses data that requires advanced tools and algorithms. Preparing text, audio, and video data for analysis and running those analyses involves linking contemporary computational tools with datasets and major research challenges in ways that cut across disciplines. Building bridges between data scientists who develop the tools to analyze these data and social scientists who have datasets to address research questions in unprecedented ways that could benefit from them is critical for both opening the world of these new data and refining the tools for analysis.

The Social Research with Unstructured Data: Connection Series, jointly sponsored by MIDAS, the AI Lab and ISR, is designed to build connections between social scientists and data scientists to improve scholarship in both arenas. Scholars in both groups present research vision and cutting-edge methodology that could benefit from additional interdisciplinary collaboration and theorizing. The series connects faculty, research scientists, postdoctoral, and graduate students to help build major research projects from their vision, find the right methods for their data, identify collaborators, or find scholars who can help trial run the tools they have developed.

Events will be held from 2:00-3:30 PM in ISR 6050 (426 Thompson Street), with meetings in January, February, March, April, and May. Refreshments provided. We encourage you to sign up ahead of time: https://myumi.ch/7eZWG For more information, or if you are interested in presenting work in progress at this series, please contact Beth Uberseder (ubersbe@umich.edu).

Speakers TBA.