Centre for Social Data Science
Faculty of Social Sciences
University of Helsinki
About
University of Helsinki’s Centre for Social Data Science is the Finland’s only unit fully committed to the intersection of social science and data science. We push the methodological frontiers and educate the next generation of social scientists.
Research
Social data science asks how data-intensive methods can be used to understand society — and what those methods do to the research we produce.
Substantive research
We use data-intensive methods to understand society, through digital trace data, register data, surveys or other materials. Our methods include exploratory quantitative approaches, applications of machine and deep learning, and work with text, visual materials, and networks. Our specific areas are wellbeing & health and digital society, but with our colleagues we have been known to venture outside them.
Methodological research
We reflect on, explore, and develop methods and their use in the social sciences. We study what our tools measure, where they fail, and how they can be made more reproducibility, robust, theory-driven, and ethical for social scientific inquiry.
Read more about our research groups and projects and our support for the Faculty of Social Science .
