The Role of Research Software and Data Engineering in Social Science

Software development is becoming essential for data-driven social science research. Advances in machine learning and computational statistics require knowledge of programming languages like Python and their associated packages, while working with large, complex datasets needs expertise in data science and engineering. To have lasting impact, new methods must also be turned into stable, maintainable code. Research Software Engineers (RSEs) help make this happen by partnering with researchers to meet these needs.

While relatively new to the social sciences, RSEs are an established presence in the physical, mathematical and engineering sciences. RSEs contribute to research through a combination of development skill, domain expertise, and education. Research engineers aim to develop high-quality, dependable code that “just works”— removing unnecessary distractions from researchers’ workflows. Because RSEs primary research output is software, they are able to concentrate on aspects of software development that researchers sometimes neglect: design, documentation, testing and automation (e.g., continuous integration).  These considerations lead to software that is easier for researchers to use, modify and maintain.

Domain Expertise

In the physical sciences, RSEs typically possess domain expertise specific to a research lab (e.g., systems biology).  In order to facilitate research across the social sciences, research engineers at DDSS instead focus on developing expertise in areas that span the social sciences: machine learning and data science/engineering. Machine learning is an important tool for transforming unstructured data—images, videos, graphs—into structured research inputs, while data science and engineering is critical to research projects dealing with large, complex datasets. RSEs use their knowledge and experience in these domains to craft, scale and automate research workflows.

Education

RSEs also serve an important educational role on campus. Like all researchers, we are constantly learning and are eager to share our knowledge with others. Research engineers do this through a combination of consultations with faculty, collaboration with graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, mentoring of research assistants and by hosting training workshops. We also attend and  present our work at research and development conferences to stay up-to-date on the latest in our areas of interest.