Stephen Ansolabehere, Professor of Government and IQSS faculty affiliate, participated in a big data workshop conducted by the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA).
The IDA is a non-profit organization which aims to provide "objective analyses of national security issues, particularly those requiring scientific and technical expertise, and conduct related research on other national challenges."
Ansolabehere's work focuses on public opinion and elections, including mass media, representation, and political economy, and the principal investigator of the Cooperative Congressional Election Study. Ansolabehere serves on the board of overseers for the American National Election Study and Oxford University's Reuters Institute of Journalism, and he is a consultant for the CBS News Election Decision Desk. At the IDA's Big Data for Social Sciences Workshop, which aimed to address methods of collaboration in big data research, Ansolabehere served on the task force on internet, community, and social and behavioral science.
As described in a report published by the IDA, issues examined in the workshop included collaboration between the intelligence community and civilian scientists; building a community of civilian scientists within the US federal government, including the creation of an advisory board; and establishing funding for social science work. At the conclusion of the workshop, the Institute's recommendations stress the importance of collaboration, resource sharing, and transparency. More information about the workshop is available in the report by Koonin et. al., "Pathways to Cooperation between the Intelligence Community and the Social and Behavioral Science Communities", downloadable from the organization's publications page (under "ODNI").
