Sebastian Stier
sebstier.bsky.social
Sebastian Stier
@sebstier.bsky.social

Professor of Computational Social Science @University of Mannheim & Scientific Director Department Computational Social Science @GESIS
https://sebastianstier.com

Communication & Media Studies 39%
Political science 30%
A new paper analyzes the “production-consumption gap” on social media, where a small subset of users produce most of the content, and considers its implications for the study of phenomena such as political polarization, and for the design of policy interventions. Prithvi Iyer considers the results:
What a New Study Reveals About the Production-Consumption Gap on Social Media | TechPolicy.Press
Prithvi Iyer considers new research on how online content reveals the tip of the iceberg, leading to incorrect inferences about online public opinion.
www.techpolicy.press
*Preprocessing and Analyzing Web Tracking Data* by Frank Mangold, Helena Rauxloh & @sebstier.bsky.social

🗓️ 04-05 May 2026
🏢 Hybrid: Cologne | Online
🌐 t1p.de/WebTrackingD...
Interested in the sociodemographic background, policy preferences, attitudes and campaign strategies of candidates for the 2025 Bundestag election? The @gles.bsky.social Candidate Study 2025 is now available (doi.org/10.4232/5.ZA... @gesis.org) and includes CCS Module IV
@ccs-project.bsky.social 👇
🚨New GLES release for #BTW25: GLES Candidate Study 2025 (ZA10102)
📅24/03–09/06/2025
👥512 interviews
🗳️Political background & nomination, campaigning, political issues, democracy & representation, sociodemographic background
🌍Includes CCS Module IV (@ccs-project.bsky.social)
📥 doi.org/10.4232/5.ZA...

📝 New preprint out!
We discuss the production-consumption gap on social media and its implications for research and public opinion.
Brilliantly led by @lfoswaldo.bsky.social

doi.org/10.31235/osf...
We have a new preprint: osf.io/preprints/so...

What have we learned about social media - the constantly moving target of empirical research - over the past decade?
We have a new preprint: osf.io/preprints/so...

What have we learned about social media - the constantly moving target of empirical research - over the past decade?
Interested in understanding #bias in #CSS?

✨Here's our Special Issue editorial in Communication Methods and Measures:

"Critical, but constructive: defining, detecting, and addressing bias in Computational Social Science"

👉 doi.org/10.1080/1931... (with @bachl.bsky.social & Nathan TeBlunthuis)
#DSA #SocialMediaDaten

Im Rahmen der Vortrags- und Diskussionsreihe "Show & Tell – Social-Media-Daten in der Forschungspraxis" der #NFDI findet eine Serie von drei Sessions zum Thema „#Datenzugang für die Forschung im #DigitalServicesAct – neue Chancen, neue Herausforderungen“ statt.

1/2

Reposted by Sebastian Stier

#DataQuality #DigitalBehavioralData #DBD
Special Issue Explores the Quality of Digital Behavioral Data, by Weiß, B., Leitgöb, H., & Wagner, C

Most DBD are not generated for research purposes but are a side product of our daily activities. A new special issue addresses key questions:

Reposted by Sebastian Stier

*JOB* As part of the @assured.bsky.social project, we are searching for a person to work in our Secure Data Center team at @gesis.org to create safe researcher trainings. www.gesis.org/en/institute...
The position is open until filled, so do not hesitate to reach our directly if you are interested!
Details
GESIS Leibniz Institut für Sozialwissenschaften
www.gesis.org
Job Alert! We are hiring two post-docs (full time, 4+ years) in our project SCEPTIC - Social, Computational and Ethical Premises of Trust and Informational Cohesion with @annanosthoff.bsky.social @guzoch.bsky.social and Prof. Andreas Peters (uol.de/informatik/s...)
Call for Research Proposals: GESIS Panel.dbd
We offer researchers the opportunity to conduct their studies for free!

We grant:
Access to ~ 7,000 participants
Free participation in surveys & web tracking
Deadline: Nov 1, 2025
Details: www.gesis.org/en/gesis-pan...

We look forward to your proposals!
#DataMethods #OpenScience

#GESISMethodsHub: An open portal for computational social science research—find tools, tutorials, and code, directly usable in your browser. Methods Hub makes it easy to learn, apply, and reproduce computational methods in the Social Sciences.

methodshub.gesis.org/
ReplicationResearch.org is now open for submissions!

Submit replications and reproductions from many different fields, as well as conceptual contributions. With diamond OA, open and citable peer review reports, and reproducibility checks, we push the boundaries of open and fair publishing.
#ASConference25
Societal Challenges and the important infrastructures for the Social Sciences on the way to get answers. Sebastian Stier shows how to unlock digital behavioral data.

as25.sociology.uni-m...
How common are “survey professionals” - people who take dozens of online surveys for pay - across online panels, and do they harm data quality?

Our paper, FirstView at @politicalanalysis.bsky.social, tackles this question using browsing data from three U.S. samples (Facebook, YouGov, and Lucid):
🧵 New publication: How do people feel about regulating #AI in election campaigns? 🧵

In a new article, @adrauc.bsky.social, @kunkakom.bsky.social, and I examine when and why people support stronger AI regulation in political competition.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

👇
Explaining public preferences for regulating Artificial Intelligence in election campaigns: Evidence from the U.S. and Taiwan
The increasing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in election campaigns, such as AI-generated political ads, automated messaging, and the widespread …
www.sciencedirect.com
📢 We're hiring a Doctoral Student in Research Software Engineering for Digital Behavioral Data!
Work at the intersection of computer science and social science, develop innovative tools, and pursue your doctoral degree with us.

👉 Apply here: www.gesis.org/en/institute...
Details
GESIS Leibniz Institut für Sozialwissenschaften
www.gesis.org

Reposted by Sebastian Stier

Social-Media-Daten zwischen Forschung und Infrastrukturen - nachhaltige Archivierung, Erschließung und Bereitstellung: An der @dnb-aktuelles.bsky.social finden vom 17.-19.03.2026 die Social Media Access Days statt. Wir freuen uns über Einreichungen bis zum 31.10.2025. www.dnb.de/DE/Professio...
Call for Submissions: Social Media Access Days
Call for Submissions: Social Media Access Days
www.dnb.de
They say: once there’s a paper 📝, it’s real…
🎉 #MEDem in #EPS @ecpr.bsky.social

The paper outlines how MEDem will strengthen #OpenScience by making data #FAIR in #DemocracyResearch – and how scholars across Europe are joining forces to build a truly open #ResearchInfrastructure ⚙️
Thrilled to share: our Special Issue in Social Science Computer Review (@sscratsage.bsky.social) on digital behavioral data quality is out now. Many thanks to all contributing authers and my co-editors @clauwa.bsky.social and Bernd Weiß:
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Reposted by Sebastian Stier

Join the GESIS Panel.dbd Insight Days on February 23–24, 2026 in Mannheim! Learn about fundamentals and best practices for working with the GESIS Panel.dbd and get exclusive access to a closed Call for Study Proposals only for workshop participants!

www.gesis.org/en/gesis-pan...

Reposted by Sebastian Stier

Here is a list that @juliankohne.bsky.social Mareike Wieland, Charlotte de Alwis, and I started a while ago:

toolreview.shinyapps.io/adapted_app/
EMA Tool Collection <div style="display: flex; align-items: center;"></div>
toolreview.shinyapps.io

Reposted by Sebastian Stier

We are hiring multiple PhD and postdocs for two newly funded projects at the intersection of mental health and political polarization at the CS Dept at Aalto, Finland. The PIs are Juhi Kulshrestha, Talayeh Aledavood, and Mikko Kivelä.

Full call text and link to apply: www.aalto.fi/en/open-posi...

Reposted by Sebastian Stier

Are you a student in Cologne or near by? Here are some great opportunities to support our computational social science team: [SHK GESIS AppKit (Kennziffer SHK-CSS-32)] www.gesis.org/institut/kar...
[SHK GESIS Web Tracking (Kennziffer SHK-CSS-33)] www.gesis.org/institut/kar...
Details
GESIS Leibniz Institut für Sozialwissenschaften
www.gesis.org
🎉 As of today, September 1, 2025, Prof. Dr. Johannes Breuer heads the "Research Data & Methods" team at CAIS. Together with the University of Duisburg-Essen, he has been appointed Professor of Digital Social Sciences. 🎉
🔗 www.cais-research.de/en/news/joha...
@johannesbreuer.com @unidue.bsky.social

Reposted by Sebastian Stier

The new GESIS Panel.dbd Digital Behavioral Data Sample offers for the second time the opportunity to submit studies: www.gesis.org/en/gesis-pan...

Accepted proposals will be fielded in 2026

Reposted by Sebastian Stier

New study with Michaela Maier, Lea Gorski & Felix Schmidt! Using web-tracking and experience sampling data we show that German voters are equally exposed to positive and negative information; however the exact relevance varies across channels and methods of data collection.

doi.org/10.1177/1077...
Beyond a Negativity Bias: Explaining the Consumption of Positive and Negative Political Information Using WebTracking and Experience Sampling Data - Michaela Maier, Jürgen Maier, Lea C. Gorski, Felix ...
Negativity and positivity are crucial in political information, yet research often overlooks positive content consumption. This study examines the degree to whi...
doi.org
📢 New Publication Alert!
Our (@msaeltzer.bsky.social)
latest article, "Issue congruence between candidates' Twitter communication and constituencies in an MMES: Migration as an exemplary case", has just been published in Parliamentary Affairs.
academic.oup.com/pa/advance-a...

Reposted by Sebastian Stier

🔍 What triggers anti-minority violence?

📌 In @europeansocreview.bsky.social, we show that soldier funerals as nationalist spectacles increase the likelihood of spontaneous retributive violence against minority members.

📖 doi.org/10.1093/esr/...
#jobs #stellenangebote #GESISjobs #jobfairy
🎓 Join GESIS Cologne as a #Postdoc in Platform Data & Computational Social Science!
💻 Work internationally, shape DSA data access, and develop your research.
Apply now:
www.gesis.org/en/ins...