CHICAGO, Jan. 17, 2019 – NORC at the University of Chicago is pleased to announce that the Health Media Collaboratory (HMC) has changed its name to the Social Data Collaboratory (SDC). The name was changed because over the past two years, HMC team members have expanded their portfolio beyond tobacco control research and studies examining health-related attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors, to encompass a body of work that highlights their expertise in social media data analytics. SDC more accurately conveys the broader scope of their capabilities and research areas. The term “collaboratory” was retained to convey that collaboration among all disciplines from social science to data science is critical to the analysis of social media and digital communications.

SDC is a multi-disciplinary team of social science researchers, data and computer scientists, and new media specialists that conducts research at the intersection of digital communications and public opinion and behavior. Their methodologies draw on established frameworks from applied statistics and computational linguistics, and employ cutting-edge machine learning techniques. Their research findings reveal nuanced insights that can inform campaign strategies, program evaluation, and policy development. SDC research projects address measurement and surveillance studies; formative research; campaign, program, and policy evaluation; and survey design and analysis.

Visit the Social Data Collaboratory online.