The Department of Journalism and Mass Communication (JMC) at American International University–Bangladesh (AIUB) organized a webinar titled “Messy Data, Big Questions: Social Science in the Computational Age.” The session featured Dr. Christina Monzer, Postdoctoral Fellow at the Politics, Identities and Communication Lab, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania.

The webinar was attended by Prof. Dr. Abdur Rahman, Pro-Vice Chancellor of AIUB; Prof. Dr. AJM Shafiul Alam Bhuiyan, Advisor to the JMC Department; and Prof. Dr. Pradip Kumar Panday, Head of the Department, along with faculty members and students. Prof. Dr. Panday delivered the welcome address. Assistant Professor Nasrin Akter hosted the program.

In his remarks, Pro-Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Abdur Rahman highlighted that in today’s era of unprecedented information flow, misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation pose significant threats to the information ecosystem. He emphasized the important role of journalism and mass communication in addressing these challenges.

Prof. Dr. AJM Shafiul Alam Bhuiyan noted that introducing students to emerging concepts such as computational research is essential for journalism and communication graduates. He also stressed the importance of algorithmic transparency in understanding digital platforms.

In her keynote presentation, Dr. Christina Monzer discussed the potential of computational social science to address major social questions using digital data. She highlighted key challenges in the field, including the risks of over-reliance on large datasets, platform-driven biases in digital data, replication issues in computational research, ethical concerns surrounding online data use, and limited access to platform data.

She also encouraged students and data journalists interested in the field to develop interdisciplinary skills, including programming (Python or R), data management, statistics, and strong theoretical framing to pursue meaningful social research.

The webinar concluded with an interactive discussion session, providing valuable insights into the growing role of computational methods in journalism, media research, and social science.