Rethinking Social Science under Digital Conditions

For the past year, the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) has focused on a complex, persistent question at the heart of social science research: how does (and, ultimately, should) the production and distribution of knowledge change under digital conditions? Scholarly work is increasingly born-digital and/or digitally abundant (except where it is decidedly not); data are increasingly privatized (and when public, increasingly challenged by skepticism and mistrust); and replication, metrics, and accountability continue to shape scholarly production. We also find ourselves in a peculiar historical moment in which political, economic, and social conditions are driven by proprietary algorithms. This talk will discuss steps social scientists are taking to address digital conditions, including: advancing training in computational methods; increasing public engagement as a means of bridge-building and expanding trust; rethinking metrics of impact and modes of citation; and cultivating scholars capable of fostering collaborations across disciplines and industries.