Download Bit by Bit Social Research in the Digital Age Matthew Salganik 9780691196107 Books

Product details Paperback 448 pages Publisher Princeton University Press; Reprint edition (August 6, 2019) Language English ISBN-10 0691196109

Bit by Bit Social Research in the Digital Age Matthew Salganik 9780691196107 Books Reviews

• Bit by Bit is, for a textbook, surprisingly engaging and well written. In it Dr. Salganik describes the changes that Big Data is causing in the social sciences. Written from an optimistic perspective, the text focuses mainly on the new kind of experiments Big Data makes possible. The citations to exemplar papers in the social sciences using Big Data are particularly helpful.
  
  The one hesitation I have about recommending the book isn’t a fault in the text itself. I conduct retrospective observational studies in health care for a living. While research like this is briefly described, the book is really intended as a text introducing advanced collegians or graduates to the types of social science research now possible given the Big Data revolution. It is not, for example, a technical summary of all the many ways to conduct a case/control experiment or the types of results that can be found with various kinds of regression analysis.
  
  In other words, the book is very good in what it sets out to do but shouldn’t be used more expansively as a technical introduction to social science research.
  
  Since the book is written so engagingly, with true excitement over the research potential of Big Data, the book is best used to get young social scientists interested in this kind of research—even to writing a doctoral dissertation of this kind. Supplemented with the actual papers cited in the book, I can’t think of a better text to make social science research interesting and important.
  
  In short, a unique introduction to the kinds of research now possible in social science. Just do not try to use the book beyond its stated purpose.
• This book is fantastic. As a sociologist, I've been waiting for a book like this to introduce the world of social science to digital age methodologies. Very clear and easy to read. It was for a class, but it was so interesting, I just kept reading it and finished it in a couple of weeks.
• This book covers many uses and issues with data science. Even if you know the topics the papers the author goes over are very interesting and a good reference.
• Excellent book for social scientists!
• Salganik is at the forefront of a new era that brings social science into the digital age. The book goes well beyond "big data" to unpack the possibilities of doing social science research at a massive scale, and relatively inexpensively. This book should be read by social scientists who want to expand their research horizons, data scientists who want to understand how to incorporate the insights of social science, and anyone in a line of work in which they have potential data that can give them insights into how people behave.
  
  The great thing about the book is that it's written very accessibly and leans heavily on vivid examples to illustrate the principles it's trying to explain, so that it paints a clear picture rather than getting lost in abstractions and theoretical possibilities.
• Though I am neither a social scientist nor a data scientist, I found this well-organized, well-reasoned book of great interest. The chapter on the ethics of social research using digital information is particularly acute. A copious use of examples and clear summaries of various studies make the analysis clear and compelling. The formulas are kept to the back of each chapter and can be skipped by the lay reader or appreciated by those in the field. The bibliography is vast and full of recent work. The informal writing style aids accessibility.
• Accessible but technically sophisticated treatment of issues in contemporary social research.
• Everything about this book is STELLAR. The research by Salganik is SUPERB and I would highly recommend this masterpiece to anyone and everyone! Would give 6 stars if I could!!! Perfect stocking stuffer!!