Studying social stratification with big data - Einzelansicht

Large-scale or “big” data is rapidly transforming many areas of governments, businesses, education and science. They allow us not only to re-visit “old” questions related to social inequalities but also to study new forms and aspects of inequalities. This course therefore explores how "big data” and data science transform social stratification research. We will discuss transformative contributions to classical sociological questions based on the “new” science of networks, web-based social research, administrative data and the traces of our digital lives. We will explore the challenges facing social sciences and consider ethical and privacy concerns raised by “big” data and analytics. A bi-weekly R tutorial is offered at the WZB in order to enable students to acquire the tools and skills necessary to deal with big data. The R Tutorial@WZB is structured around the more technically focused homeworks. Participation is therefore highly recommended but not obligatory.