Shows
What is it about computational communication science?How crucial is credibility online?Credibility is a crucial concept in communication science and received severely increased attention, again, with CCS. That is, it serves everybody as a signpost to navigate the web whilst also being scrutinized by some via (AI-driven) signals that suggest trustworthiness. Cuihua (Cindy) Shen is Professor of Communication and Co-Director of the Computational Communication Research Lab at the Department of Communication at UC Davis. In this episode, she, Emese Domahidi (Professor at TU Ilmenau) and Mario Haim (Professor at LMU Munich) talk about the concept of credibility and its particular role with mis- and disinformation. Of course, we also talk...2024-08-141h 10What is it about computational communication science?How to fix platforms?Ethan Zuckerman, Associate Professor of Public Policy, Communication and Information at the U of Massachusetts Amherst, is our guest, and he is on a mission to fix platforms. Not because he thinks they are inherently bad, but because there are several things about platforms that research (not least CCS) tells us are flawed. Emese Domahidi (Professor at TU Ilmenau) and Mario Haim (Professor at LMU Munich) talk with Ethan about why social media seems to be broken, what possible ways to fix it might be, how different regions of the world are approaching this challenge, and whether suing Facebook...2024-07-2352 minWhat is it about computational communication science?#aBitOfCCS on information flows in Telegram with Mónika Simon hosted by Jana Bernhard-HarrerJoin us in the newest episode of #aBitOfCCS Podcast featuring Dr. Mónika Simon, a Postdoctoral researcher at the UvA, unraveling Narratives of (Dis)Trust in the digital realm.
In this episode, Dr. Simon discusses her research focused on tracing information flows in contemporary media, utilizing advanced computational methods and cross-platform analysis.
Explore her paper "Linked in the dark: A network approach to understanding information flows within the Dutch Telegramsphere" co-authored with K. Welbers, A. C. Kroon, and D. Trilling.
Access the paper at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/364452085_Linked_in_the_dark_A_n...2024-06-2435 minWhat is it about computational communication science?#aBitOfCCS on document selection with keywords with Sean-Kelly Palecki hosted by Jana Bernhard-HarrerDive into the latest episode of #aBitOfCCS Podcast featuring Sean-Kelly Palicki, a PhD candidate at TU Munich, as he explores multilingual document sampling and the impact of keyword translation strategies on automated text analysis. In this engaging conversation with host Jana Bernhard, Sean discusses key findings from his study, "Selecting Relevant Documents for Multilingual Content Analysis," published in Computational Communication Research. Check out the full study at https://doi.org/10.5117/CCR2023.2.5.PALI. For further inquiries, reach out to Sean-Kelly at sean.palicki@tum.de. Don't miss this insightful episode on the nuances of document selection in computational communication research!2024-05-2229 minWhat is it about computational communication science?What is AI?Everyone is talking about Artificial Intelligence (AI), so we want to bring some differentiation into the bigger picture. For this, Jean Burgess, Distinguished Professor of Digital Media in and founding director of the Digital Media Research Centre (DMRC) at Queensland University of Technology, is our guest. She has been focusing on social implications of digital media technologies, platforms, and cultures, as well as new and innovative digital methods for studying them, for quite some time and has recently become Associate Director of the national Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society (ADMS). From that, she's...2024-05-0247 minWhat is it about computational communication science?#aBitOfCCS on language model-based chatbots with Aleksandra Urman and Mykola Makhortykh hosted by Jana Bernhard-HarrerStep into the world of language model-based chatbots with our latest podcast episode! Join us for an in-depth exploration of the study titled "The Silence of the LLMs: Cross-Lingual Analysis of Political Bias and False Information Prevalence in ChatGPT, Google Bard, and Bing Chat." In this insightful episode, our host engages in a compelling interview with the researchers behind the study—Aleksandra Urman from the Department of Informatics at the University of Zurich (urman@ifi.uzh.ch) and Mykola Makhortykh from the Institute of Communication and Media Studies at the University of Bern (mykola.makhortykh@unibe.ch).
Di...2024-04-2529 minWhat is it about computational communication science?#aBitOfCCS on measuring bias with Mar Castillo Campos hosted by Jana Bernhard-HarrerExplore the latest episode of #aBitOfCCS Podcast featuring Mar Castillo Campos, a research assistant at Loyola Andalucía University, as she delves into the use of computational methods, including GPT and CNNs, for automating media bias detection. In a conversation with host Jana Bernhard, Mar discusses the simplicity yet effectiveness of this method in uncovering biases by comparing media coverage from different sources on the same story.
Discover more in Mar's study titled "Natural Language Processing Methods Applied to the Study of Media Coverage" available at https://comunicacionymetodos.com/index.php/cym/article/view/171/123.
For a...2024-04-0825 minWhat is it about computational communication science?How does digital media affect well-being?In this episode, we look at the question of how digital media affects the well-being of users - a question that researchers have been debating for a long time.
From a communication science perspective, there are many questions in this field of research and new approaches to solving them using computational methods. In this episode, we look in particular at the measurement of media use and the new opportunities presented by digital data and computational methods, as well as the associated challenges. Doug A. Parry (Senior Lecturer at Stellenbosch University) is one of the leading experts in...2024-03-211h 06What is it about computational communication science?#aBitOfCCS on semantic network analysis with Ofer Shinar hosted by Jana BernhardTune in to #aBitOfCCS Podcast as we explore cross-cultural communication in a pandemic with Ofer Shinar, a research student and teaching assistant at Tel-Aviv University, currently at LMU Munich. Ofer shares insights from his study, "Semantic Network Analysis of Students' Confessions During a Global Pandemic: A Cross-National Study," delving into intercultural media usage and Semantic Network Analysis. Hosted by Jana Bernhard, this episode offers a brief yet insightful journey into the method of semantic network anlaysis. For further discussion or inquiries, connect with Ofer at ofershinar@mail.tau.ac.il. Find the study slides here (https://www.slideshare.net...2024-03-0133 minWhat is it about computational communication science?How important are networks?Katya Ognyanova (Associate Professor at Rutgers U) is our guest and she is an expert on studying social networks. What's the societal problem with that, we hear you ask. Well, a lot of political knowledge and information and particularly mis- and disinformation spreading on the internet builds on social networking parameters such as strong and weak ties or partisanship among groups. Katya talks Emese (Professor at TU Ilmenau) and Mario (Professor at LMU Munich) through network essentials, the social aspects of (mis-)information, and the role of CCS in all of that.2024-02-2748 minWhat is it about computational communication science?How powerful are platforms?In this episode we talk about platforms and their power. This includes the relevance of social media metrics to users, the gatekeeping function of platforms, and fragmentation trends. For these topics, our guest is the ideal expert to talk to: Subhayan Mukerjee (Assistant Professor at the National U of Singapore) is a computer scientist, mathematician and (computational) communication scholar. What's more, he also brings a global perspective on the use of news and the power of platforms, as Emese Domahidi (Professor at TU Ilmenau) and Mario Haim (Professor at LMU Munich) talk with him about the needs for adequate...2024-01-1848 minWhat is it about computational communication science?How to study “contemporary” news?Continuing with political language online, we seek to understand the relevance and divergence of news on the internet. Sounds trivial? Well, unfortunately, it isn't: What is "contemporary" news is decided upon by many rather than a few, it contains journalistically verified messages as well as mis- and disinformation and fake news. Jo(sephine) Lukito (Assistant Professor at the U of Texas at Austin’s School of Journalism and Media) guides us, Emese Domahidi (Professor at TU Ilmenau) and Mario Haim (Professor at LMU Munich), through the exciting and "hybrid" online news environment as well as through her own research in...2023-12-131h 00What is it about computational communication science?How to study digital contention?It is not very hard to find dispute, also harsh dispute, online. A phenomenon also called digital contention, this raises several questions such as why are controversies more pronounced on the web? Have people turned into a rude mob in recent years or does the web help the quarrelsome to become more present? Also, what does this mean for our research, the theories and methods we apply? On that, Emese Domahidi (Professor at TU Ilmenau) and Mario Haim (Professor at LMU Munich) talk with Christian Baden (Associate Professor at the Department of Communication and Journalism and the Smart Institute...2023-11-171h 14What is it about computational communication science?How to regulate new technologies?Let's put on your legal suit and join Emese Domahidi (Professor at TU Ilmenau) and Mario Haim (Professor at LMU Munich) welcoming Natali Helberger (Distinguished Professor of Law & Digital Technology, with a special focus on AI at the U of Amsterdam). We talk about the difficulties that come with regulating newly emerging technology. We also talk about all kinds of upcoming EU regulations (such as the Digital Services Act, DSA, the Digital Markets Act, DMA, and the AI Act) and the challenges of these, but also about the differences to other jurisdictional systems. Finally, we put this into perspective...2023-08-1554 minWhat is it about computational communication science?How problematic is gender bias?In this episode, Emese Domahidi (Professor at TU Ilmenau) and Mario Haim (Professor at LMU Munich) talk to Ágnes Emőke Horvát (Assistant Professor in Communication and Computer Science at Northwestern University where she leads the Lab on Innovation, Networks, and Knowledge, LINK) about what gender biases are, their origins and how prevalent these systematic misrepresantions are. Moving to Computational Communication Science, we then discuss how gender biases (and inequalities, more generally) affect our research, our data, tools, measures, and models. And we tackle the big question how potential routes forward could look like. 2023-07-251h 00What is it about computational communication science?#aBitOfCCS on measuring racism with Ahrabhi Kathirgamalingam hosted by Jana BernhardHow to measure racism in news media is the main question in today's episode. Ahrabhi Kathirgamalingam looks into racist and discriminative language as well as dynamics of racism in some 30 years of German-speaking news media. As that's quite a lot of data, of course Ahrabhi also builds on CCS methods. Yet, in addition to the mere amount of data, coding racism also bears big questions of validity and ethics for coders and annotators -- an issue where CCS might also be able to help. In this episode hosted by Jana Bernhard, Ahrabhi talks us through dictionaries and the many...2023-07-1123 minWhat is it about computational communication science?#aBitOfCCS on dictionaries with Anke Stoll hosted by Emese DomahidiToday's CCS study is about the application and particularly the development of dictionaries to apply to quantitative text analyses. Anke Stoll (together with Lena Wilms and Marc Ziegele in this publication from 2023) developed a dictionary to detect German incivility. She did so through a combination of manual and automated approaches, through classic word lists and word embeddings. Hosted by Emese Domahidi, Anke takes us through her approach, the challenges, and of course the potentials she sees with these kinds of techniques. The journal article was just published in Communication Methods and Measures. Oh, and if you want to guest...2023-06-2717 minWhat is it about computational communication science?Where is our moral compass pointing?In today's episode, Frederic R. Hopp (@Freddy_Hopp) discusses with Emese Domahidi (@MissEsi) and Mario Haim (@DrFollowMario) about morality. What's that, why does it affect our daily lifes and our social cohesion, what does it have to do with media content, and how can it be measured? CCS research offers a wide variety of tools to handle morality but also comes with quite a lot of challenges. Freddy takes us through them and discusses with us how research on morality is also affected by current societal developments.
2023-06-1353 minWhat is it about computational communication science?#aBitOfCCS on algorithmic topic modeling with Jana Bernhard hosted by Mario HaimLet's dive into another CCS study, together with Jana Bernhard. This time, hosted by Mario Haim, Jana talks about her approach to topic modelling through algorithmic embeddings to analyze political communication in Austria from 2012 to 2021. Jana and Mario discuss the potential need for more sophisticated methods, they explain the approach Jana has taken, and they discuss whether it was actually worth it. Her study is currently in preparation for publication but interested listeners can get a sneak peak at https://de.slideshare.net/secret/DDmhlvuMusUFY6. Oh, and if you want to guest or host a future episode, please don't...2023-05-3029 minWhat is it about computational communication science?#aBitOfCCS on off-the-shelf topic modeling with Waqas Ejaz hosted by Valerie HaseLet's dive into a CCS study, together with Waqas Ejaz. In this episode, hosted by Valerie Hase, Waqas tells us about why and how he used topic modeling (LDA) for analyzing news coverage on climate change in a low-income country such as Pakistan. In that, and apart from data access, Waqas and Valerie discuss the sensitive decision of the appropriate number of topics in topic modeling.
Ejaz, W., Ittefaq, M. and Jamil, S. (2023). Politics triumphs: A topic modeling approach for analyzing news media coverage of climate change in Pakistan. JCOM 22(01), A02. https://doi.org/10.22323/2.22010202
#aBitOfCCS offers brief heads-ups from...2023-05-1629 minWhat is it about computational communication science?How to explore global issues?In this first episode of the second season, Fabienne Lind (@FabienneLind) discusses with Emese Domahidi (@MissEsi) and Mario Haim (@DrFollowMario) about the English centrism in academia and how this affects our CCS research. This particularly includes the method of content analysis where we use pre-trained models and/or build on training data that have been affected by a largely western and English-speaking perspective. And we discuss multi-lingual text analysis and the many advantages as well as challenges this approach offers. 2023-05-0241 minWhat is it about computational communication science?Trailer Season 2What is it about Computational Communication Science -- and about big societal problems?
We -- Emese Domahidi (@MissEsi) and Mario Haim (@DrFollowMario) -- are back with season 2 and with two exciting changes: First, we do not address "big data" and "algorithms" up front anymore but discuss societal problem that have been addressed by computational communication sciene recently. For that, we talk to several awesome scholars from a broad variety of sub fields. Second, we start a sub series entitled #aBitOfCCS in which individual papers from CCS are discussed in great detail and directly with the authors. And the best thing i...2023-05-0207 minWhat is it about computational communication science?What is our field?It is the season finale and Emese Domahidi (TU Ilmenau) and Mario Haim (LMU Munich) reflect on what it is about computational communication science. We start by briefly looking back at the previous twelve episodes to characterize the ongoing endeavors and challenges of CCS before spending the larger part of this episode on discussing CCS' coming of age. We use some sports metaphors to depict the establishment of collaborations, of professional norms and values, and of to-be-built research infrastructure. And we discuss whether CCS is just tool or its own field, what a field actually is, and how this an...2022-08-0119 minWhat is it about computational communication science?How to measure human behavior?In this episode, Emese Domahidi (TU Ilmenau) and Mario Haim (LMU Munich) talk to David Lazer (Northeastern U in Boston, MA), distinguished professor of political science as well as computer science and one of the founding fathers of the broader field of computational social science. With a focus on mis- and disinformation, we learn from him why it is so difficult to measure human behavior both and why it has become both more challenging but also more adressable online. Of course, we touch ethical and legal questions in this regard as well as the global inequalities when it comes...2022-08-0134 min
What is it about computational communication science?Do communication scholars have to code?In this episode, Emese Domahidi (Assistant Professor at TU Ilmenau) and Mario Haim (Professor at LMU Munich) discuss with Jacob T. Fisher (Assistant Professor at the U of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) about the role of coding for communication scholars. Jacob just co-organized (along with Josephine Lukito, Frederic R. Hopp, and Felicia Loecherbach) the first ICA Hackathon and talks about his experience at the event in the podcast. From there, we tackle topics such as what programming and developing actually are and how to teach coding skills in a way that makes sense for the social sciences, what knowledge we need...2022-07-0557 minWhat is it about computational communication science?How to network in CCS?The ICA's annual conference 2022 will start in a couple of days. In this episode, Emese Domahidi (TU Ilmenau) and Mario Haim (LMU Munich) discuss with Annie Waldherr (University of Vienna), current vice chair of the ICA's Computational Methods division, how to network in CCS. We touch upon the value of networking and how to network especially in the emerging field of CCS, given your specific career level. Of course, we also talk about the various receptions, the ICA dance, and other networking events at the conference. Finally, we talk about other opportunities to network, be it because one is...2022-05-2343 minWhat is it about computational communication science?Does computer science need the social sciences?Flipping things upside-down in this episode, Emese Domahidi (TU Ilmenau) and Mario Haim (LMU Munich) discuss with Claudia Wagner (RWTH Aachen and GESIS) about whether and how computer science really needs the social sciences. Claudia's background as a trained computer scientist as well as her current role as Professor of Applied Computational Social Sciences allowed us to really dive into opposing expectations, clichés, hurdles, and especially the benefits of interdisciplinary work at the intersection between the computer and the social sciences. We also discuss the concepts of algorithmically infused societies as well as "up-ductive" feedback loops, to ultimately d...2022-05-0350 minWhat is it about computational communication science?How to audit algorithms online?In this episode Emese Domahidi (Assistant Professor at TU Ilmenau) and Mario Haim (Assistant Professor at the U of Leipzig) discuss with Juhi Kulshrestha (Assistant Professor at U Konstanz) what makes algorithms online a research object. We touch on topics like filter bubbles and echo chambers, biases, how to investigate algorithms, the role of platforms and companies, data sources and possible effects of algorithmic curation. Last but not least, we discuss how far this field of resesarch has come by now and which future directions might be fruitful.
References
Friedman, B., & Nissenbaum...2022-03-2952 minWhat is it about computational communication science?Why is today's data still not enough data?Together with Tetsuro Kobayashi (Associate Professor at City U of Hong Kong), Emese Domahidi (Assistant Professor at TU Ilmenau) and Mario Haim (Assistant Professor at the U of Leipzig) discuss the dilemma with social-media tech giants like Facebook or Tencent which undoubtedly have but are hesitant to share adequate data with independent research. We also discuss how varying types of data have changed with the rise of computational communication science. And we talk about possible ways to move forward in order to establish more independent data sources to conduct up-to-date social-scientific research with.
References
Henrich, J...2022-02-211h 03What is it about computational communication science?Why do you write your own software?Together with Felicia Löcherbach (PhD candidate at VU Amsterdam), Emese Domahidi (Assistant Professor at TU Ilmenau) and Mario Haim (Assistant Professor at the U of Leipzig) discuss what research software is and why to code your own research software. Felicia gives unique insights into the topic using the example of a research software she developed from scratch. We also touch on topics like rewards and challenges, ethics, data security, systematic testing vs. quick and easy solutions and how to find support if you start your own research software project.
References
Loecherbach, F., & Trilling, D. (2020). 3bi...2022-01-2650 minWhat is it about computational communication science?How to become a data scientist?Emese Domahidi (Assistant Professor at TU Ilmenau) and Mario Haim (Assistant Professor at the U of Leipzig) interview Till Keyling (former Senior Data Scientist at ProSiebenSat.1 and now Team Lead Software Engineering Data Science at PAYBACK) on how to become a data scientist. After learning what data science is, we look at what communication scientists can bring to the table, what university is capable of equipping us with, and what it is that potential employers look for in future data scientists. Also, do not miss out on Till talking us through an application process.
...2021-12-2152 minWhat is it about computational communication science?How can I get started with CCS?Today, Emese Domahidi (Assistant Professor at TU Ilmenau) and Mario Haim (Assistant Professor at the U of Leipzig) discuss together with Valerie Hase (Research and Teaching Assistant at the U of Zurich) ways, approaches, guidelines, and routes to get started with computational communication science (CCS). We talk learning materials, compare intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, provide ideas and suggestions on where and how to find help and companions, and we tell our very own stories of how we got started with CCS.
Conferences, Divisions, & Working Groups
http://ic2s2.org/
...2021-11-2536 minWhat is it about computational communication science?How come data needs the social sciences?In the second episode Emese Domahidi (Assistant Professor at TU Ilmenau) and Mario Haim (Assistant Professor at the U of Leipzig) discuss with Wouter van Atteveldt (Associate Professor at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) the role of communication science in the field. Main topics are the nature and role of data for the social sciences and challenges in collaborations with computer scientists. We touch on topics like open science, reproducibility and replicability for computational communication science and whether we need a cultural change to achieve these goals. Last but not least we talk about a new book Computational Analysis of Communication...2021-10-2747 minWhat is it about computational communication science?What is Computational Communication Science and why would we need a podcast on that?In this first-ever episode, Emese Domahidi (Assistant Professor at TU Ilmenau) and Mario Haim (Assistant Professor at the U of Leipzig) discuss the relevance of a social-scientific perspective in the computer-scientifically driven field of artificial intelligence. We briefly dig into Kate Crawford's recent book (https://www.katecrawford.net/) as well as the European Union's "Guidelines for Trustworthy AI." And we compare rather distinct understandings of relevance when it comes to a computational perspective within communication science. All of this accumulates in the introduction of our new podcast in which we will tackle the urgent questions of CCS.
2021-09-2828 minWhat is it about computational communication science?Trailer Season 1What is it about Computational Communication Science?
As "big data" and "algorithms" affect our daily communication, lots of new research questions arise at the intersection between societies and technologies, asking for human wellbeing in times of permanent smartphone usage or the role of huge platforms for our news environment. The growing discipline of Computational Communication Science (CCS) takes on a combinatory perspective between social and computer science. In this podcast, Emese Domahidi (@MissEsi) and Mario Haim (@DrFollowMario) open this discussion for students and young scholars, one guest and one question at a time.
2021-09-2804 min