The impact agenda is set to shape the way in which social scientists prioritise the work they choose to pursue, the research methods they use and how they publish their findings over the coming decade, but how much is currently known about how social science research has made a mark on society? Based on a three year research project studying the impact of 360 UK-based academics on business, government and civil society sectors, this groundbreaking new book undertakes the most thorough analysis yet of how academic research in the social sciences achieves public policy impacts, contributes to economic prosperity, and informs public understanding of policy issues as well as economic and social changes. The Impact of the Social Sciences addresses and engages with key issues, including: identifying ways to conceptualise and model impact in the social sciences developing more sophisticated ways to measure academic and external impacts of social science research explaining how impacts from individual academics, research units and universities can be improved. This book is essential reading for researchers, academics and anyone involved in discussions about how to improve the value and impact of funded research.

How the NSF became an important yet controversial patron for the social sciences, influencing debates over their scientific status and social relevance. In the early Cold War years, the U.S. government established the National Science Foundation (NSF), a civilian agency that soon became widely known for its dedication to supporting first-rate science. The agency's 1950 enabling legislation made no mention of the social sciences, although it included a vague reference to "other sciences." Nevertheless, as Mark Solovey shows in this book, the NSF also soon became a major--albeit controversial--source of public funding for them.

The essays presented in this volume examine knowledge mobilisation and its relation to research impact and engagement. The social sciences matter because they can help us to understand and address the complex challenges confronting society. This is particularly true in an era of significant downward pressure on public expenditure, a consequence of the global fiscal crisis, when there is a striking need to ensure that policies are demonstrably effective and efficient. The impact agenda in the UK, reflected in parallel global debates, actively encourages the social sciences to make and demonstrate a difference; to justify and protect social science funding. This volume shows how knowledge mobilisation can be thought of systematically as a process, encompassing engagement, leading to the co-production and channelling of knowledge to make a difference in the economy and society. This book was originally published as a special issue of Contemporary Social Science.

"The social sciences now affect and shape man's conduct of his affairs".

This book is designed to introduce doctoral and graduate students to the process of conducting scientific research in the social sciences, business, education, public health, and related disciplines. It is a one-stop, comprehensive, and compact source for foundational concepts in behavioral research, and can serve as a stand-alone text or as a supplement to research readings in any doctoral seminar or research methods class. This book is currently used as a research text at universities on six continents and will shortly be available in nine different languages.

A new era of innovation is enabled by the integration of social sciences and information systems research. In this context, the adoption of Big Data and analytics technology brings new insight to the social sciences. It also delivers new, flexible responses to crucial social problems and challenges. We are proud to deliver this edited volume on the social impact of big data research. It is one of the first initiatives worldwide analyzing of the impact of this kind of research on individuals and social issues. The organization of the relevant debate is arranged around three pillars: Section A: Big Data Research for Social Impact: • Big Data and Their Social Impact; • (Smart) Citizens from Data Providers to Decision-Makers; • Towards Sustainable Development of Online Communities; • Sentiment from Online Social Networks; • Big Data for Innovation. Section B. Techniques and Methods for Big Data driven research for Social Sciences and Social Impact: • Opinion Mining on Social Media; • Sentiment Analysis of User Preferences; • Sustainable Urban Communities; • Gender Based Check-In Behavior by Using Social Media Big Data; • Web Data-Mining Techniques; • Semantic Network Analysis of Legacy News Media Perception. Section C. Big Data Research Strategies: • Skill Needs for Early Career Researchers—A Text Mining Approach; • Pattern Recognition through Bibliometric Analysis; • Assessing an Organization’s Readiness to Adopt Big Data; • Machine Learning for Predicting Performance; • Analyzing Online Reviews Using Text Mining; • Context–Problem Network and Quantitative Method of Patent Analysis. Complementary social and technological factors including: • Big Social Networks on Sustainable Economic Development; Business Intelligence.