Mission and Core Values

Because understanding complex social problems requires drawing from diverse methods, theories, and perspectives, we value team-based interdisciplinary research that brings data scientists into conversation with social scientists and humanists. We also value partnering with other organizations to pursue common goals.

We value developing next-generation data, tools, and methods for the social sciences and digital humanities, applying  high-tech solutions to long-term problems addressed by scholars in the social sciences and humanities, and creating new methodological approaches for analyzing news texts at extreme scales in valid ways. We particularly value innovation that blends subject-matter expertise from the humanities and social sciences with methods expertise from the data sciences.

Because validity, replication, and falsifiability are necessary for scientific progress, we value transparency in methods, measures, and quality criteria.

We value getting it right by persevering in adverse circumstances and maintaining integrity in all aspects of the research process. Because getting it right often requires making and learning from mistakes, we value undertaking research in a culture that privileges listening, dialogue, reflection, open-mindedness, and questioning assumptions.

We value discoveries that advance our understanding of threats to human flourishing. We especially value opportunities for student researchers to participate in these difference-making activities. We want our data and tools to generate new insights, knowledge, and understanding with potential to improve the well-being of people around the world.