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1. WEBOMETRICS
INSTITUTE
Computational Social Science
Approaches to Studying
Political Communication
Asso. Prof. Han Woo PARK
CyberEmotions Research Institute
Dept. of Media & Communication
YeungNam University
214-1 Dae-dong, Gyeongsan-si,
Gyeongsangbuk-do 712-749
Republic of Korea
http://www.hanpark.net
http://asia-triplehelix.org
A Keynote to 2012 International Communication Association’s Preconference
New Media and Citizenship in Asia: Social Media, Politics, and Community-Building.

2. Existing approaches in science and reality

3. Computational perspective based on the
use of high performance computing
Two major to facilitate high-speed processing of
strands exist in large volumes of digital data
computational
science The networking perspective based on
(also called virtual collaboration through the Grid
e-Science)
A third alternative strand
?
e-Science in humanities
and social sciences
Park, H. WCU (2010). Mapping the e-science landscape in South Korea using the webometrics
W.
WEBOMETRICS
INSTITUTE
method. Journal ofPOLITICS WITH E-RESEARCH TOOLS
INVESTIGATING INTERNET-BASED Computer-Mediated Communication, Vol. 15, No. 2. 211 – 229

4. Computational Social Science (CSS)
A minor but growing approach to
the study of society
Focus on the methodological
perspective based on the use
of new digital tools to manage
the data deluge

5. CSS Approach
1. development of webometric tools to automate
social Internet research process (e.g., data
collection and analysis from search engines,
SNS and microblogging sites)
2. experimentation with new types of data
visualization (e.g, HNA and dynamic
geographical mappings using Google)

6. Why CSS?
Bonacich, P. (2004).
The Invasion of the Physicists. Social Networks 26(3): 285-288
• Savage and Burrows (2007, p.
886) laments, “Fifty years ago,
academic social scientists might
be seen as occupying the apex of
the – generally limited – social
science research „apparatus‟. Now
they occupy an increasingly
marginal position in the huge
research infrastructure.

7. 7

8. All modes are wrong but some are useful
- Emergence of data author on dataverse

9. “Webometrics refers to a set of research methods that
illustrates texts and their web linkages as a network and
quantitatively examine the spreadable aspects of web-
mediated communication activities of social actors and
issues (Jenkins, 2011), in comparison to traditional
methods (Savage & Burrows, 2007; Salganik &
Levy, 2012). ” (by Han Woo Park)

10. http://participatorysociety.org/wiki/index
.php?title=Online_Research

11. Seminal publications: * 실시간 피인용률 보기
 Garton, L., Haythornthwaite, C., & Wellman, B. (1997
). Studying online social networks. Journal of Compu
ter-Mediated Communication, 3(1).
 Wellman, B. (2001). 'Computer networks as social n
etworks,' Science, Vol. 293, Issue (14), pp. 2031-203
4.
 Park, H. W. (2003). Hyperlink network analysis: A ne
w method for the study of social structure on the web
. Connections, 25(1), 49-61 .
 Park, H. W., & Thelwall, M. (2003). Hyperlink analyse
s of the World Wide Web: A review. Journal of Comp
uter-Mediated Communication, 8(4).

12. Recent special issues related to CSS
 Special issues
- Social Science Computer Review, 2011, 29(3)
Theme: Social Networking Activities Across Countries
- Asian Journal of Communication, 2011, 21(5),
Theme: Online Social Capital and Participation in Asia-
Pacific
- Scientometrics, 2012, 90(2)
Theme : Triple Helix and Innovation in Asia using
Scientometrics, Webometrics, and Informetrics
- Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 2012, 17(2)
Theme: Hyperlinked Society

13. Selected publications related to CSS
 Recent publications
- Park, H. W., Barnett, G. A., & Chung, C. J. (2011). Structural changes in the global hyperlink
network: Centralization or diversification. Global networks. 11 (4). 522–542
- Lim, Y. S., & Park, H. W. (2011). How Do Congressional Members Appear on the Web?:
Tracking the Web Visibility of South Korean Politicians. Government Information Quarterly.
28 (4), 514-521.
- Sandra González-Bailón, Rafael E. Banchs and Andreas Kaltenbrunner (2012).
Emotions, Public Opinion, and U.S. Presidential Approval Rates: A 5-Year Analysis of Online
Political Discussions Human Communication Research
- Sams, S., Park, H. W. (2012 forthcoming). The Presence of Hyperlinks and Messages on Social
Networking Sites: A Case Study of Cyworld in Korea. Journal of Computer-Mediated
Communication
- Nam, Y., Lee, Y.-O., Park, H.W. (2013, March). Can web ecology provide a clearer
understanding of people’s information behavior during election campaigns?. Social Science
Information.

14. Web Hyperlink Networks as Social Networks

15. Results
Frequently occurring key words in e-science webpages in South Korea
Created on Many Eyes(http://many-eyes.com)
E-science in Asia:
Dreams and realities for social science research
Park, H. W. (2010). Mapping the e-science landscape in South Korea using the webometrics
method. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Vol. 15, No. 2. 211 – 229

16. Websites retrieved more than two times
Note: Websites are larger according to their frequency of retrieval; however, heir
colors and locations are randomly-chosen for the best visualization
Park, H. W. (2010). Mapping the e-science landscape in South Korea using the webometrics
method. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Vol. 15, No. 2. 211 – 229

17. Author types of Korea e-science websites
Author types No. of sites Percent
Mass media 27 26.0
Public/Government 18 17.3
Technology Media 17 16.3
Portals/Search
15 14.4
engines/Blogs
Private/Industry 14 13.5
Academic/University 13 12.5
Total 104 100.0
Media sites were the most frequently retrieved, with slightly less than half of
the sites for this study (44 out of 104 sites)
Park, H. W. (2010). Mapping the e-science landscape in South Korea using the webometrics
method. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Vol. 15, No. 2. 211 – 229

18. Co-link network analysis
Park, H. W. (2010). Mapping the e-science landscape in South Korea using the webometrics
method. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Vol. 15, No. 2. 211 – 229

19. Inter-link network analysis diagram among Korean e-science sites within
public domain
Park, H. W. (2010). Mapping the e-science landscape in South Korea using the webometrics
method. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Vol. 15, No. 2. 211 – 229

20. Conclusion
Mindset shift
• Scholars and researchers in social sciences
need to recognize and acknowledge the
opportunities that are available
– E.g. access to vast data and new modes of
data collection and analysis
• The emerging era of networked research
leads to two possible scenarios
–Education and training programs have to be
put in place to produce a new breed of social
scientists with combined expertise and
knowledge of computational science and
social sciences
–What is more actionable in the shorter term
is to engender and promote collaborative
efforts between these different fields
WCU WEBOMETRICS INSTITUTE
http://blog.jove.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Publishing.png

21. Conclusion
Mindset shift
• In Korea, there appears to be a lack of desire for either
distance international collaboration through the
Access Grid or the use of high performance
computing facilities among social scientists
– Little demand as social scientists’ current choices for their research
practices are still shaped by offline facilities rather than online
technology capabilities
– Policy-makers and technology developers to involve social scientists
in design and application processes, but change in mindset among
researchers is needed to transform e-science into a reality for social
scientists
Good role model in the West
– Oxford Internet Institute, The Virtual Knowledge Studio for the Humanities
and Social Sciences, The Institute for Quantitative Social Science at
Harvard University WCU WEBOMETRICS INSTITUTE

22. The Future of
Computational
Social Science