Friedolin Merhout
@fmerhout.bsky.social
Sociologist and Social Data Scientist at University of Copenhagen. Duke University PhD. Intergroup relations & computational social science. He/him/his. https://fmerhout.github.io
Had the pleasure of presenting @mauromartinelli.bsky.social and my work on making online search data suitable for longitudinal, comparative research funded by DFF dff.dk/en/ at the Danish Centre for Social Science Research www.vive.dk/en/ yesterday. Thanks to Frederik Thuesen for the invitation.
November 13, 2025 at 8:23 AM
Had the pleasure of presenting @mauromartinelli.bsky.social and my work on making online search data suitable for longitudinal, comparative research funded by DFF dff.dk/en/ at the Danish Centre for Social Science Research www.vive.dk/en/ yesterday. Thanks to Frederik Thuesen for the invitation.
Reposted by Friedolin Merhout
OK, #socsky, I'm looking for songs about intergenerational mobility (up or down) or class reproduction.
E.g., Whiskeytown's Jacksonville Skyline ("I was born in an abundance of inherited sadness"). Or, in a lighter vein, Musgraves' "Merry Go-Round."
Examples notwithstanding, the genre is open.
E.g., Whiskeytown's Jacksonville Skyline ("I was born in an abundance of inherited sadness"). Or, in a lighter vein, Musgraves' "Merry Go-Round."
Examples notwithstanding, the genre is open.
November 11, 2025 at 9:23 AM
OK, #socsky, I'm looking for songs about intergenerational mobility (up or down) or class reproduction.
E.g., Whiskeytown's Jacksonville Skyline ("I was born in an abundance of inherited sadness"). Or, in a lighter vein, Musgraves' "Merry Go-Round."
Examples notwithstanding, the genre is open.
E.g., Whiskeytown's Jacksonville Skyline ("I was born in an abundance of inherited sadness"). Or, in a lighter vein, Musgraves' "Merry Go-Round."
Examples notwithstanding, the genre is open.
Reposted by Friedolin Merhout
There is a lot of fuss today over whether chatbots can replace human participants in social sciences research when the solution is obvious: ask chatbots to simulate the views of social scientists and survey them on attitudes towards chatbots as substitutes for human subjects.
November 10, 2025 at 10:45 PM
There is a lot of fuss today over whether chatbots can replace human participants in social sciences research when the solution is obvious: ask chatbots to simulate the views of social scientists and survey them on attitudes towards chatbots as substitutes for human subjects.
Reposted by Friedolin Merhout
We're hiring 2 Assistant Professors of Sociology: Gender and Sexuality and Environmental Sociology. At @tcdsociology.bsky.social, we aspire to be a method-agnostic group of solution-oriented sociologists. Join our welcoming community at @tcdschoolssp.bsky.social. Deadline 1 Dec. Link in the comment.
November 7, 2025 at 8:04 PM
We're hiring 2 Assistant Professors of Sociology: Gender and Sexuality and Environmental Sociology. At @tcdsociology.bsky.social, we aspire to be a method-agnostic group of solution-oriented sociologists. Join our welcoming community at @tcdschoolssp.bsky.social. Deadline 1 Dec. Link in the comment.
Reposted by Friedolin Merhout
If you only read one thing today - a Q&A with Patricia Kingori, a remarkable scholar who uncovered a remarkable story about a huge ‘fake essay industry’.
🧪 #academicSky
@nature.com @ox.ac.uk
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
🧪 #academicSky
@nature.com @ox.ac.uk
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Shadow scholars: inside Kenya’s multibillion-dollar fake-essay industry
Sociologist Patricia Kingori is helping to expose contract cheating by scholars in high-income countries.
www.nature.com
November 7, 2025 at 9:37 AM
If you only read one thing today - a Q&A with Patricia Kingori, a remarkable scholar who uncovered a remarkable story about a huge ‘fake essay industry’.
🧪 #academicSky
@nature.com @ox.ac.uk
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
🧪 #academicSky
@nature.com @ox.ac.uk
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Friedolin Merhout
making Jacob the stereotypical Bluesky user is the rudest and truest attack anyone has ever made on us
November 6, 2025 at 11:36 PM
making Jacob the stereotypical Bluesky user is the rudest and truest attack anyone has ever made on us
Reposted by Friedolin Merhout
We have just published the call for the Nuffield Postdoctoral Prize Research Fellowships in Politics. These are 3-year fully-funded postdocs that will allow you to focus on your research in a great academic environment. (And with excellent food)
www.nuffield.ox.ac.uk/the-college/...
www.nuffield.ox.ac.uk/the-college/...
Postdoctoral Prize Research Fellowships in Politics - Nuffield College Oxford University
www.nuffield.ox.ac.uk
November 6, 2025 at 1:27 PM
We have just published the call for the Nuffield Postdoctoral Prize Research Fellowships in Politics. These are 3-year fully-funded postdocs that will allow you to focus on your research in a great academic environment. (And with excellent food)
www.nuffield.ox.ac.uk/the-college/...
www.nuffield.ox.ac.uk/the-college/...
Reposted by Friedolin Merhout
I am looking for a post-doc working on behavioral/environmental/urban/energy economics to join my group at the University of Copenhagen. Position is 2 years (possibly 3), good salary, free health insurance, one of the most livable cities in the world. Apply here: jobportal.ku.dk/videnskabeli...
Postdoctoral Position in Behavioral and Environmental Economics
jobportal.ku.dk
November 3, 2025 at 8:23 PM
I am looking for a post-doc working on behavioral/environmental/urban/energy economics to join my group at the University of Copenhagen. Position is 2 years (possibly 3), good salary, free health insurance, one of the most livable cities in the world. Apply here: jobportal.ku.dk/videnskabeli...
Reposted by Friedolin Merhout
ANES Data Release! electionstudies.org/data-center/...
The 3-wave ANES panel is now available. It merges data from 3 election studies (2016-2020-2024), the first time the ANES has collected interviews of the same respondents across 3 presidential elections.
The 3-wave ANES panel is now available. It merges data from 3 election studies (2016-2020-2024), the first time the ANES has collected interviews of the same respondents across 3 presidential elections.
2016-2020-2024-panel-merged-study - ANES | American National Election Studies
electionstudies.org
November 1, 2025 at 8:47 PM
ANES Data Release! electionstudies.org/data-center/...
The 3-wave ANES panel is now available. It merges data from 3 election studies (2016-2020-2024), the first time the ANES has collected interviews of the same respondents across 3 presidential elections.
The 3-wave ANES panel is now available. It merges data from 3 election studies (2016-2020-2024), the first time the ANES has collected interviews of the same respondents across 3 presidential elections.
Reposted by Friedolin Merhout
🎓 We’re hiring!
Two researcher / PhD positions in the ERC project DANCE – Dark Nerd Communities at the University of Münster 🇪🇺
🧮 Quantitative: survey, lab + field experiments
🎙️ Qualitative: ethnography, focus groups, interviews
Apply by 28 Nov 2025 👇
#AcademicJobs #ERC #PhD #CommunicationResearch
Two researcher / PhD positions in the ERC project DANCE – Dark Nerd Communities at the University of Münster 🇪🇺
🧮 Quantitative: survey, lab + field experiments
🎙️ Qualitative: ethnography, focus groups, interviews
Apply by 28 Nov 2025 👇
#AcademicJobs #ERC #PhD #CommunicationResearch
November 1, 2025 at 9:44 PM
🎓 We’re hiring!
Two researcher / PhD positions in the ERC project DANCE – Dark Nerd Communities at the University of Münster 🇪🇺
🧮 Quantitative: survey, lab + field experiments
🎙️ Qualitative: ethnography, focus groups, interviews
Apply by 28 Nov 2025 👇
#AcademicJobs #ERC #PhD #CommunicationResearch
Two researcher / PhD positions in the ERC project DANCE – Dark Nerd Communities at the University of Münster 🇪🇺
🧮 Quantitative: survey, lab + field experiments
🎙️ Qualitative: ethnography, focus groups, interviews
Apply by 28 Nov 2025 👇
#AcademicJobs #ERC #PhD #CommunicationResearch
Reposted by Friedolin Merhout
Since I have made this post I have gathered a bunch of observational studies with null results since then. Here is a quick thread:
What are some good examples of political science papers using observational data published with null results?
January 17, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Since I have made this post I have gathered a bunch of observational studies with null results since then. Here is a quick thread:
Reposted by Friedolin Merhout
Pairwise visual conjoint experiment in the wild
October 30, 2025 at 12:24 PM
Pairwise visual conjoint experiment in the wild
Reposted by Friedolin Merhout
Join us in 3 hours (at 17:00 Berlin time) to discuss replication problems of language models and recommendations for research!
🚨 for those from a different time zone: Germany already switched back clocks last weekend, so depending on where you are the time difference might be an hour off from usual
🚨 for those from a different time zone: Germany already switched back clocks last weekend, so depending on where you are the time difference might be an hour off from usual
Next Wednesday, we're excited to welcome @lexipalmer.bsky.social, who will present co-authored work with @cbarrie.bsky.social and Arthur Spirling on "Replication for Language Models: Problems, Principles, and Best Practices for Political Science". Paper and information on how to join ⬇️
October 29, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Join us in 3 hours (at 17:00 Berlin time) to discuss replication problems of language models and recommendations for research!
🚨 for those from a different time zone: Germany already switched back clocks last weekend, so depending on where you are the time difference might be an hour off from usual
🚨 for those from a different time zone: Germany already switched back clocks last weekend, so depending on where you are the time difference might be an hour off from usual
Reposted by Friedolin Merhout
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)
✨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)
October 29, 2025 at 3:19 PM
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)
✨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)
Reposted by Friedolin Merhout
When researchers bring up confounders without ever having declared the actual analysis goal
October 28, 2025 at 10:24 AM
When researchers bring up confounders without ever having declared the actual analysis goal
Reposted by Friedolin Merhout
you will note the lack of a budget for a $60 book in my already negative daily budget 🙃
October 27, 2025 at 8:27 PM
you will note the lack of a budget for a $60 book in my already negative daily budget 🙃
Reposted by Friedolin Merhout
We often hear from reviewers: "what about demand effects?" So we developed a method to eliminate them. Something weird happened during testing: We couldn’t detect demand effects in the first place! (1/8)
September 15, 2025 at 5:19 PM
We often hear from reviewers: "what about demand effects?" So we developed a method to eliminate them. Something weird happened during testing: We couldn’t detect demand effects in the first place! (1/8)
Reposted by Friedolin Merhout
Minister says this will be the end of the annual Danish political tweaking of research funding:
uniavisen.dk/en/no-more-p...
uniavisen.dk/en/no-more-p...
No more political tinkering: Danish government launches long-term research strategy
Long-term funding and freedom for universities, but with clear national priorities. A new research strategy puts an end to annual negotiations over funding.
uniavisen.dk
October 27, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Minister says this will be the end of the annual Danish political tweaking of research funding:
uniavisen.dk/en/no-more-p...
uniavisen.dk/en/no-more-p...
Reposted by Friedolin Merhout
🧵1/6
New paper out in @sociologicalsci.bsky.social with @marckeuschnigg.bsky.social and Peter Hedström! We identify a social-influence mechanism that widens individuals' behavioral repertoires and breaks the link between individuals' initial preferences and the collective outcomes they bring about.
New paper out in @sociologicalsci.bsky.social with @marckeuschnigg.bsky.social and Peter Hedström! We identify a social-influence mechanism that widens individuals' behavioral repertoires and breaks the link between individuals' initial preferences and the collective outcomes they bring about.
Wide Social Influence and the Emergence of the Unexpected: An Empirical Test Using Spotify Data
Article: Wide Social Influence and the Emergence of the Unexpected: An Empirical Test Using Spotify Data | Sociological Science | Posted October 23, 2025
sociologicalscience.com
October 27, 2025 at 12:38 PM
🧵1/6
New paper out in @sociologicalsci.bsky.social with @marckeuschnigg.bsky.social and Peter Hedström! We identify a social-influence mechanism that widens individuals' behavioral repertoires and breaks the link between individuals' initial preferences and the collective outcomes they bring about.
New paper out in @sociologicalsci.bsky.social with @marckeuschnigg.bsky.social and Peter Hedström! We identify a social-influence mechanism that widens individuals' behavioral repertoires and breaks the link between individuals' initial preferences and the collective outcomes they bring about.
Reposted by Friedolin Merhout
✨CREST Sociology is hiring ✨
Assistant or Associate Professor in Computational Sociology
Details here: www.shorturl.at/E57le
Assistant or Associate Professor in Computational Sociology
Details here: www.shorturl.at/E57le
October 22, 2025 at 10:03 AM
✨CREST Sociology is hiring ✨
Assistant or Associate Professor in Computational Sociology
Details here: www.shorturl.at/E57le
Assistant or Associate Professor in Computational Sociology
Details here: www.shorturl.at/E57le
Reposted by Friedolin Merhout
We're hiring an outstanding Assistant Professor whose core research is in the field of cultural sociology with demonstrable expertise in the sociology of #culture and #technology.
📅 Applications close Sunday 30 November 2025.
➡️ jobs.lse.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...
📅 Applications close Sunday 30 November 2025.
➡️ jobs.lse.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...
October 24, 2025 at 3:34 PM
We're hiring an outstanding Assistant Professor whose core research is in the field of cultural sociology with demonstrable expertise in the sociology of #culture and #technology.
📅 Applications close Sunday 30 November 2025.
➡️ jobs.lse.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...
📅 Applications close Sunday 30 November 2025.
➡️ jobs.lse.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...
Reposted by Friedolin Merhout
"Wide social influence" hits the sweet spot, balancing exposure to novelty and willingness to adoption. This influence mechanism can make the unexpected happen, leading to cultural change
👉 sociologicalscience.com/articles-v12...
👉 sociologicalscience.com/articles-v12...
Wide Social Influence and the Emergence of the Unexpected: An Empirical Test Using Spotify Data
Article: Wide Social Influence and the Emergence of the Unexpected: An Empirical Test Using Spotify Data | Sociological Science | Posted October 23, 2025
sociologicalscience.com
October 24, 2025 at 3:00 PM
"Wide social influence" hits the sweet spot, balancing exposure to novelty and willingness to adoption. This influence mechanism can make the unexpected happen, leading to cultural change
👉 sociologicalscience.com/articles-v12...
👉 sociologicalscience.com/articles-v12...
Reposted by Friedolin Merhout
The Dept. of Sociology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte is seeking applications for an assistant or associate professor who specializes in advanced data analyses, with an open substantive specialty. Read more here: jobs.charlotte.edu/postings/64668
Assistant or Associate Professor of Sociology
The Department of Sociology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte is seeking applications for a tenure track position as Assistant or Associate Professor of Sociology (9 month term of appoi...
jobs.charlotte.edu
October 22, 2025 at 1:15 PM
The Dept. of Sociology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte is seeking applications for an assistant or associate professor who specializes in advanced data analyses, with an open substantive specialty. Read more here: jobs.charlotte.edu/postings/64668
Reposted by Friedolin Merhout
📢 Join the SweCSS Community!
If you would like to stay informed about upcoming events, job opportunities, and news from The Swedish Excellence Centre for Computational Social Science (SweCSS), you are welcome to join our mailing list. #css #academicsky
👉 Sign up here: liu.se/en/research/...
If you would like to stay informed about upcoming events, job opportunities, and news from The Swedish Excellence Centre for Computational Social Science (SweCSS), you are welcome to join our mailing list. #css #academicsky
👉 Sign up here: liu.se/en/research/...
The Swedish Excellence Centre for Computational Social Science
This is a research hub and training centre at the forefront of Computational Social Science, a rapidly growing field that leverages computational tools to advance our understanding of human behavior a...
liu.se
October 17, 2025 at 8:54 AM
📢 Join the SweCSS Community!
If you would like to stay informed about upcoming events, job opportunities, and news from The Swedish Excellence Centre for Computational Social Science (SweCSS), you are welcome to join our mailing list. #css #academicsky
👉 Sign up here: liu.se/en/research/...
If you would like to stay informed about upcoming events, job opportunities, and news from The Swedish Excellence Centre for Computational Social Science (SweCSS), you are welcome to join our mailing list. #css #academicsky
👉 Sign up here: liu.se/en/research/...
Reposted by Friedolin Merhout
I believe that widespread harassment and constant threats of violence have silenced many once-prominent feminist voices in online spaces, and I think that this has had adverse downstream consequences for young women on social media, who see misogyny normalized and promoted to them.
October 15, 2025 at 2:32 PM
I believe that widespread harassment and constant threats of violence have silenced many once-prominent feminist voices in online spaces, and I think that this has had adverse downstream consequences for young women on social media, who see misogyny normalized and promoted to them.