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Computational Social Science and Big Data: A Quick SWOT Analysis

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Berechenbarkeit der Welt?

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Do computational social science and Big Data constitute a methodological revolution of the complex, data-intensive sciences? This question is approached by means of a quick analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT analysis) of the two approaches. It is concluded that computational social science and Big Data do mark an important methodological improvement but should probably not be qualified as “scientific revolution” or “paradigm change”. From the SWOT analysis it also follows that further research is necessary for a coherent development of computational social science and Big Data, in particular with respect to the ethics of privacy; balancing the low explanatory power of computational models; developing an epistemological position between naïve realism and radical constructivism; integrating computer science and social science.

Theodor Leiber is Associate Professor of Philosophy at University of Augsburg (Germany). He received doctorates in theoretical physics and philosophy. His main areas of interest are philosophy of science and technology, epistemology and ethics of nature. Leiber is also a higher education researcher focusing on models of teaching and learning, governance and impact analysis of quality management in higher education.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universität Augsburg, Augsburg, Deutschland

    Theodor Leiber

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  1. Theodor Leiber
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Correspondence to Theodor Leiber .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. TU München, München, Germany

    Wolfgang Pietsch

  2. TU München, München, Germany

    Jörg Wernecke

  3. Anstalt für Kommunale Datenverarbeitung, München, Bayern, Germany

    Maximilian Ott

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Leiber, T. (2017). Computational Social Science and Big Data: A Quick SWOT Analysis. In: Pietsch, W., Wernecke, J., Ott, M. (eds) Berechenbarkeit der Welt?. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-12153-2_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-12153-2_14

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  • Publisher Name: Springer VS, Wiesbaden

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-658-12153-2

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