Machine learning in social science : applications and advances / Yunsong Chen, Zhuo Chen, Wen Ma, Guodong Ju

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Chen, Yunsong, 1975- author.

Chen, Zhuo (Of Nanjing da xue), author.

Ma, Wen (Of Nanjing da xue), author.

Ju, Guodong, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social sciences--Data processing.

Social sciences.

Machine learning.

Machine Learning.

Medical Subjects:

Machine Learning.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

Singapore : Palgrave Macmillan, [2026]

Summary:

"This book explores how machine learning can enhance both quantitative and qualitative research in sociology. By developing algorithms tailored to specific data, machine learning enables social scientists to uncover patterns, generate new theories, calibrate indicators, and strengthen causal inference. The book offers an accessible introduction to the principles and applications of supervised and unsupervised learning (Part I), followed by empirical case studies across key areas of sociological research. In the social prediction section (Parts II–IV), it illustrates how supervised learning can 1) impute missing indicators, 2) derive theories directly from data, and 3) improve causal inference through counterfactual construction. In the culture modeling section (Parts V–VI), it shows how unsupervised machine learning can map the structure of large-scale cultural texts—such as online novels and film databases—making complex cultural patterns visible across time and space"-- Springer Nature Link

Contents:

Introduction : the rise of machine learning in social science

Social prediction : a new research paradigm based on supervised machine learning

Modeling massive data : discovering structure using unsupervised machine learning

Unspeakable violence : predicting the incidence of intimate partner violence

Hidden identities : predicting sexual minority orientation among youth

Computing grounded theory : an algorithm-based approach to deriving theories

Applications of computing grounded theory : revisiting subjective well-being

Enhancing traditional methods of causal inference using machine learning : optimizing matching, instrumental variables, and quasi-experiments

Double machine learning for causal inference on high-dimensional data : a flexible and robust approach to causal estimation

Modeling gender consciousness : women authors’ creation in boys’ love fiction

Modeling ideology : a distant reading of Marx/Engels Collected Works

From barbarism to civilization : the evolving image of China in international cinema

A united tale of three regions : a century of China on screen

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index

Online resource; title from PDF title page (Springer Nature Link, viewed March 17, 2026)

Other Format:

Print version: Chen, Yunsong, 1975- Machine learning in social science

ISBN:

9789819564651

9819564654

OCLC:

1570339765

Publisher Number:

CIPO000330539

Access Restriction:

Some versions: Open access versions available from some providers open access