Computational Social Science Methods

Assignments

Assignments 3–6 accept using data sources other than OpenAlex, but must share similar analytical components.

Late submissions are not accepted. Check due dates on Canvas.

Assignment 1: Plagiarisms test

The first assignment of this course is to pass the plagiarism test and obtain a certificate at the master and doctoral level. Plagiarism is a serious academic misconduct. You will receive zero grade on plagiarized work and there may be other consequences. We have been told not to do this maybe since primary school, and we are always assuming we know what plagiarism is. However, we may assume we know too much (e.g., famous cases of plagiarism).

You do not need to take this test if you have a comparable certification or you took this test before, but the validity of your certification needs to be approved by the instructor.

“All assignments in this course may be processed by TurnItIn, a tool that compares submitted material to an archived database of published work to check for potential plagiarism. Other methods may also be used to determine if a paper is the student’s original work. Regardless of the results of any TurnItIn submission, the faculty member will make the final determination as to whether or not a paper has been plagiarized” (Statement from the Faculty Writing Committee: Guidelines for Preventing Plagiarism).

For this assignment, please submit your certificate as a file on Canvas.

Assignment 2: Group presentation and annotated bibliography

(1) Group presentation

Sign up your presentation here.

Students will lead four short presentations on each of the research design themes: data management, concept representation, data analysis, and scientific communication.

I will provide some key definitions, frameworks, and references for you to start, you are expected to select and analyze empirical studies from the CSS Empirical Studies Database, and prepare a 30-minutes group presentation in class.

The presentation should respond to the following points:

  1. How to define this function of CSS methods from a research design perspective, and why it is necessary?
  2. What are the common technical methods or practices, how do they complement existing research approaches, and how are they unique?
  3. How do existing empirical studies apply specific methods, and how can these applications be improved? Select at least 2 articles from the CSS Empirical Studies Database and 2 articles of your own selection (add your article to the database).
  4. What are the general patterns or rationales you can abstract from your analysis?

For this assignment, submit your presentation slides to Canvas (in multiple attempts).

(2) Annotated bibliography

For the rest of the class who are not presenting, should complete a one-page annotated bibliography analyzing the theoretical chapter of that week (all students will do the first week on Introduction chapter). We will have in-class discussions of these annotated bibliographies of that week. Your annotated bibliographies should focus on:

  1. What contents you find most useful to you, and how they relate to your research.
  2. Any theoretical perspectives that are missing or debatable.
  3. Any empirical evidence or studies that are missing or debatable.
  4. Contents that can be clearer or you find confusing.
  5. What contents, practices, and learning experience are/will be useless given the advancements of AI tools.

For this assignment, submit your annotated bibliographies to Canvas (in multiple attempts).

Assignment 7: Participation

  • Presentation: You are expected to present your Assignments 3–6 in class (slides are not required).
  • In-class discussion: You are expected to actively participate in discussion sessions.
  • Small exercises: There may be small writing or review exercises helping you keep up with the course content. These are counted as participation. Details of these small exercises are listed in the schedule of each week.

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