August 29, 2018

Main conference: 9-5pm

Keynote & Reception: 6-9pm

Northeastern University

The data and methodologies available to social scientists have exploded with the emergence of vast archives of passive data collection, large scale online experimentation, and innovative uses of simulation. These data are of a larger magnitude and methods are of a greater computational complexity than approaches that have dominated political science for the last 50 years. This offers the potential for rich insights into society at scale, while simultaneously introducing new ethical and infrastructural challenges. In parallel, the information and communication technologies that have driven these changes are also driving changes in politics, around the world, that require study. In order to understand the political world, it is increasingly important to gain access to the political communication and behavior occurring online. This preconference to the APSA offers a forum for political science research in this emerging space.

The meeting will take place at Northeastern University (a 10 minute walk from the meetings of the American Political Science Association).  This is a one day, single track conference, with a keynote by Gary King of Harvard University. Topics will include image analysis, collective action in autocracies, polarized politics, text as data, and fake news. This conference is sponsored by the NULab for Texts, Maps, and Networks at Northeastern, the Network Science Institute at Northeastern; the Institute for Quantitative Social Science at Harvard University; and Sage Publishing. Special thanks to our Organizing Committee and Host Committee.

Northeastern University is an urban campus with the conference locations spread around a 2-block radius.

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Main Conference Locations 

(find locations for specific tracks here)

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Alumni Center 

Columbus Place, 6th Floor, 716 Columbus Ave, Boston, MA 02120

    · Politics in Full Color: Image Analysis in Political Science Alumni Center, 9 am – 10:30 am

    · Methods for Computational Social Science Alumni Center, 11 am – 12:30 pm

    · Current Directions in Text as Data  Alumni Center, 1:45 pm – 3:30 pm

    · Ideology & Public Opinion Alumni Center, 4 pm – 5:30 pm

Shillman Hall

Shillman Hall, Room 320 115 Forsyth St, Boston, MA 02115

    · Collective Action under Autocracies Shillman 320, 9am – 10:30 am

    · My Way or the Highway:  Polarized Politics Shillman 320, 11 am – 12:30 pm

    · Coalitions, Factions, and Parties Shillman 320, 1:45 pm – 3:30 pm

    · International Relations Shillman 320, 4 pm – 5:30 pm

Snell 90 

Snell Library, Room 90, 360 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115

    · This Panel is (about) Fake News! Snell 90, 1:45 pm – 3:30 pm

    · #FakeNews and Social Media Snell 90, 4 pm – 5:30 pm 

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Keynote & Reception

Fenway Center

77 St Stephen St, Boston MA 02115

    · 6-7pm: Keynote: Gary King

    · 7-9pm: Reception

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Organizing committee

David Lazer (Northeastern University)
Nick Beauchamp (Northeastern University)
Adam Berinsky (MIT)
Ken Benoit (London School of Economics)
Fabrizio Gilardi (University of Zurich)
Sandra Gonzalez-Bailon (University of Pennsylvania)
Andreas Jungherr (University of Konstanz)
Gary King (Harvard University)
Ines Levin (University of California, Irvine)
Helen Margetts (Oxford Internet Institute)
Lily Mason (University of Maryland)
Molly Roberts (University of California, San Diego)
Derek Ruths (McGill University)
Sarah Shugars (Northeastern University)
Betsy Sinclair (Washington University)
Michelle Torres (Rice University)
Josh Tucker (NYU)
Jennifer Victor (George Mason University)
Hanna Wallach (Microsoft Research)
Duncan Watts (Microsoft Research)
Brooke Foucault Welles (Northeastern University)