Data are crucial for the discussion of politics and digital media. Understanding the core concepts and issues arising from the quantification of social and political life and the resulting data is important for engaging in many of the subsequent controversies of the uses of digital media in politics. Digital media, devices, and sensors collect data documenting the world, society, and human behavior. This has been seen by some as a measurement revolution, providing many new avenues for the social sciences as well as new business opportunities in the economy. Perceived potentials and dangers in the increases in the volume and breadth of coverage of digital data are broadly discussed, but it is also important to examine how these new data sources relate to the social or behavioral phenomena they supposedly cover. New data riches have to be translated into meaningful measures of phenomena of interest and society.

In this episode, we will discuss core issues arising from the quantification of social and political life. Following this, we will discuss opportunities and limitations of big data.

Script: http://digitalmedia.andreasjungherr.de/data.html