What is it about computational communication science?

In this episode, Prof. Emese Domahidi from TU Ilmenau explores the ethical questions at the heart of computational social science research. She reflects on the responsibilities that come with using methods such as automated text analysis, machine learning, large-scale data collection, and AI, asking not only what these tools make possible, but also what researchers should do with them. Emese discusses how to approach computational research responsibly, navigate ethical challenges, and critically evaluate the impact of increasingly powerful and scalable methods. This conversation offers valuable insights for anyone seeking to conduct computational research with integrity and care.

In this episode of the #aBitOfCCS Podcast, Jana Bernhard-Harrer talks with Sarah Jewett from the London School of Economics and Political Science about the challenges of working with traumatic and high-stakes data in computational social science.
Sarah’s research examines how defendants accused of war crimes express remorse—if at all—across legal archives, and what patterns of emotional expression emerge over time. The discussion focuses on the ethical and methodological tensions that arise when applying computational text analysis to testimony describing extreme violence and trauma.
Drawing on her own research journey, Sarah reflects on why “more advanced” methods are not always better, especially when the stakes are high, and argues for simplicity, care, and greater human involvement when analyzing sensitive data.
Contact Sarah at: S.Jewett1@lse.ac.uk

In this episode, Prof. Anja Bechmann from Aarhus University guides us through the complex legal and ethical landscape of working with digital trace data in social media research. She explains the challenges researchers face around data access and compliance, especially given the evolving regulations like the Digital Services Act. Anja shares practical advice for navigating these issues responsibly, including how early-career researchers can find support and make use of emerging tools and datasets. This conversation offers clear, actionable guidance for conducting digital media research the right way.

In this episode of the #aBitOfCCS Podcast, Jana Bernhard-Harrer talks with Larri Miller (she/her, they/them), a PhD candidate in the Department of Communication at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. 
The conversation centres on Larri’s dissertation research, which combines computational analysis grounded in qualitative methods. We discuss their study “Defending the Status Quo: Exploring r/TrueUnpopularOpinion as a Defensive Public” and what it reveals about how online communities mobilise discourse to resist social change and protect dominant viewpoints.
This episode offers insights into computational grounded theory, mixed-methods research design, and the challenges of studying contentious online spaces.
Learn more about Larri’s work: https://www.larrimiller.com/ Get in touch with Larri via email: larrisamille@umass.edu

In this episode, Professor Hartmut Wessler from the University of Mannheim unpacks the evolving role of theory in Computational Communication Science (CCS). Hartmut explains why strong theoretical frameworks remain essential for making sense of complex data and how computational theories differ from traditional approaches in communication research. He also shares which theories he finds most compelling right now and how his work blends text and image analysis to tackle big societal questions like climate change and migration. We discuss whether today’s theories need to evolve to keep pace with new data-driven methods — and why theory, far from fading, is more crucial than ever for guiding meaningful, responsible research in the age of big data.