Big Data, Big Deal? Exploring the Potential & Peril of Modern Data Sources for Social Science Res (Online)

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This 5-hour course will be offered online only. Attendance is required – this course will not be recorded.

Overview: In this workshop we will offer an overview of big data types and sources and discuss their potential for survey and social science research as well as pitfalls. Specifically we will discuss social media data, digital trace data, administrative data and sensor data through a total data quality lens. We will address quality issues with each type of data, possible error frameworks to use in working with these specific data types and discuss ways to quantity data quality through a collection of metrics. We end the workshop with a discussion of how to maximize data quality for these data sources. The workshop will include several examples of work taken from the recent survey research, social science and information systems science literature and we will also include several interactive activities aimed at reinforcing key concepts around recognizing and possibly mitigating quality issues that may arise when working with these data types for social science type research.

Prereq – Familiarity with modern data sources or an interest in exploring their use for research projects

This course will count as 5.0 CSS short course credit hours.

Instructor: Trent Buskirk

Dr. Trent D. Buskirk is the Novak Family Professor of Data Science and the Chair of the Applied Statistics and Operations Research Department at Bowling Green State University. Trent received his Ph.D. in Statistics from Arizona State University with emphasis in Survey Sampling. Since that time Dr. Buskirk has developed specific expertise in Mobile and Smartphone Survey Designs and Data and in the use of machine learning methods for developing sampling designs and adaptive survey protocols. Trent has held positions in academia and industry including Director of the Center for Survey Research at UMass Boston and as an Associate Professor of Biostatistics at Saint Louis University as well as the Research Director in Measurement Science for the Nielsen Company and Vice President or Methods and Statistics at the Marketing Systems group. Dr. Buskirk’s research has been published in leading survey, statistics and health related journals such as Field Methods, Journal of Royal Statistical Society, Social Science Computer Review, and Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. Trent is recently the Past President of the Midwest Association for Public Opinion and served as the 2018 Conference Chair for the American Association of Public Opinion Research and has recently been named a 2017 Fellow of the American Statistical Association.

Currently, Trent’s research is focused on the infusion of machine learning and other data science methods within the social sciences and survey research with specific attention to various aspects of data quality within big data sources. Trent also has research interests in dual frame weighting for cell phone surveys, smartphone survey mode effects and in comparisons between quality of estimation using both Probability-based and non-probability based panels in the context of nonresponse bias adjustments, mode effect evaluation and coverage issues.

Dr. Buskirk’s research has been published in leading survey, statistics and health related journals such as Field Methods, Journal of Royal Statistical Society, Social Science Computer Review, Journal of Official Statistics, Preventative Medicine, Cancer, Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, Survey Methods: Insights from the Field and Methods, Data and Analysis, Public Opinion Quarterly and the Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology. Trent is recently the Past President of the Midwest Association for Public Opinion and served as the 2018 Conference Chair for the American Association of Public Opinion Research and has recently been named a 2017 Fellow of the American Statistical Association. When Trent is not working or thinking about surveys, sampling, or smartphones ad research, you can generally find him playing resident prince to his two princesses or playing an action packed game of Pickle ball!

Registration fees:

• UNC Chapel Hill Students (including current Certificate of Survey Science program students): $0, with a $35 deposit to hold your spot (deposit is refundable upon your attendance for at least 66% of the course)
• UNC Chapel Hill Faculty/Staff/Postdoc/Resident/Visiting Scholars: $80
• Non-UNC Chapel Hill University Student/Employee (must have active university email): $105
• Government/Non-Profit/Corporate: $130

Additional course information:

• Registration closes at 12:01am, 11/28/2023. Once registration closes, no late registrations will be accepted, no exceptions.
• Cancellation/ Refund Policy: A full refund will be given to those who cancel their registration no later than 10 days prior to the course. If you cancel within the 10 days prior to the class, no refund will be given. Please allow 30 days to receive your refund.
• Zoom link will be sent prior to course. Registration required in order for Zoom link to be received.

For questions regarding the status of this class, please contact Jill Stevens at jill_stevens@unc.edu