Eelke Heemskerk

The Future of Social Science. Navigating the Digital Age's Transformative Potential

In the era of the digital age, the landscape of social life is undergoing a transformation. With social relations and communities increasingly shifting into the online realm. As individuals engage with the digital world, they leave behind a trail of digital traces.

These footprints offer vast potential for social scientific research, enabling the study of entire populations at a level of detail previously unattainable, while overcoming traditional sample biases. This seems like a bright future perspective. However, this progress raises essential questions about the ethical and legal challenges associated with large-scale social data.

The Vision of Computational Social Science

In this keynote lecture, Eelke Heemskerk argues for a Computational Social Science that is both qualitative and quantitative. That draws on cutting-edge computational and data science methods, while building upon the wealth of existing social scientific knowledge. Importantly, this interdisciplinary approach is rooted in the academic tradition of the Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR) and is now taking shape at the University of Amsterdam, through the new domain of Computational Social Science.

The Crucial Role of Theory

A pivotal concern within computational social science is the role of theory. Heemskerk asserts that while data-driven discovery has a place in social science, it must be complemented by a strong theoretical foundation. Achieving this balance requires a new generation of scholars, trained in both theoretical and data science methods.

Historical Milestones in Social Science

Reflecting on the history of social science, Eelke illustrates that previous instances of novel, larger datasets and computational advancements have arisen. Drawing from the example of computationally aided Social Network Analysis in the 1970s, he highlights the University of Amsterdam's role as a pioneer in 'big data' social science research. However, progress stagnated until physicists delved into the non-linear properties of social networks at the turn of the century, sparking an interdisciplinary revolution and the emergence of network science.

Charting the Future

Looking ahead, Eelke outlines a roadmap for the continued evolution of Computational Social Science, aligned with the founding principles of the AISSR. This approach aims to navigate the opportunities and challenges presented by the digital age, leveraging the rich potential of large-scale social data while maintaining ethical and legal integrity.

After his lecture, Eelke will have a conversation with Roanne van Voorst, futures-anthropologist at the AISSR.

About Eelke Heemskerk

Eelke Heemskerk is Professor of Political Networks at the Political Science department of the Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR), as part of the Political Economy and Transnational Governance research group. In his research, he focuses primarily on big data related to networks of corporate ownership and control, and how social networks influence decision-making and corporate governance. He has published research on corporate governance, corporate elites, social networks and institutional reform in the Netherlands and Europe.

Eelke is director of the first Bachelor’s programme in computational social science in the Netherlands, and academic co-director of the Dutch POPNET research platform for population-scale social network analysis.