What is it about computational communication science?

• Observing Opinions: What is Pre-Processing?

  In this episode, Prof. Jamal Abdul Nasir from the University of Galway reveals why pre-processing is the backbone of all text analysis. He breaks down key steps like defining documents, tokenization, removing stop words, unification, and stemming vs. lemmatization. Jamal also explains unigrams vs. bigrams and how modern NLP techniques like byte-pair encoding are changing the game. Plus, he shares practical tips for making your pre-processing transparent and reproducible, helping your research stand strong and scale up.

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• Observing Opinions: Thinking About Text Computationally

  In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Fabienne Lind from the University of Vienna, who sheds light on how computational methods transform the way we study opinionated communication. Fabienne shares her experience researching political emotions on social media in the CIDAPE project and explains what it really means to “code” when we’re working with text. We explore how computational tools help us find patterns and insights that traditional reading might miss — and why this matters for understanding public discourse today. From clear benefits to real challenges, Fabienne shows why thinking computationally is key for anyone studying text at scale. Further information about the CIDAPE Horizon Europe Project here: https://cidape.eu/

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• #aBitOfCCS on Measuring Uncertainty in Political Speech with Ella MacLaughlin hosted by Jana Bernhard-Harrer

  Tune in to the #aBitOfCCS Podcast as we explore how to measure something as abstract and slippery as uncertainty in political speech. Ella MacLaughlin, a PhD candidate at Utrecht University, joins us to discuss her ongoing research on how politicians in the US, UK, Germany, and the Netherlands express uncertainty in public communication.In this episode, we dive into the challenges of capturing uncertainty in political language, how it differs from other domains like biomedical science, and how we can build a dictionary for latent novel contracts.. Rather than focusing on results, we reflect on the conceptual and methodological puzzles that come with studying highly normative political language through computational tools.Reach out to Ella at [email protected] for more on her work, and check out the project website at radiunce.org!A brief note from Ella: At 17:52, I mistakenly attributed a paper to ‘Walters’ instead of the correct author ‘Walker’. Apologies for the error.

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• Observing Opinions: Why Should we Care About Opinionated Communication?

  In this episode, we are joined by Prof. Helle Sjøvaag, journalism researcher and founding member of the OPINION Network. She shares how the network came to life and why it’s vital for studying how opinions form and spread online. We explore how digital spaces — from social media to news sites — shape what we think and how we express it. Helle unpacks the hidden influence of technology, power, and money on online discourse. Tune in to hear why building supportive networks is crucial in navigating these turbulent spaces — and how collective research can make a real difference. Further information here: https://www.opinion-network.eu/about

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• #aBitOfCCS on training data for classifying hateful language with Denies Roth hosted by Jana Bernhard-Harrer

  In this episode of #aBitOfCCS, Jana Bernhard-Harrer sits down with Denise Roth, a PhD student at the Strategic Communication Group at Wageningen University & Research. Denise’s research focuses on how science is communicated by political elites and the implications for the relationship between science and society.Her study, "In the Crossfire: Online Hostility Towards Public Figures Amid Politicized Science Communication" , investigates how large language models (LLMs) can be leveraged to annotate training data for a classifier capable of distinguishing hateful language from other types of online comments. Together, we explore the intersection of AI, social science, and combating online hostility in the context of politicized science communication.Don’t miss this thought-provoking discussion on the challenges and opportunities in understanding and addressing hostility towards public figures in today’s digital age. If you have any questions, you can connect with Denise here: Denise Roth - Wageningen University & Research

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