Programming with Python for Social Scientists

As data become ‘big’, fast and complex, the software and computing tools needed to manage and analyse them are rapidly developing. Social scientists need new tools to meet these challenges, tackle big datasets, while also developing a more nuanced understanding of – and control over – how these computing tools and algorithms are implemented. Programming with Python for Social Scientists offers a vital foundation to one of the most popular programming tools in computer science, specifically for social science researchers, assuming no prior coding knowledge. It guides you through the full research process, from question to publication, including: • The fundamentals of why and how to do your own programming in social scientific research • Questions of ethics and research design • A clear, easy to follow ‘how-to’ guide to using Python, with a wide array of applications such as data visualisation, social media data research, social network analysis, and more. Accompanied by numerous code examples, screenshots, sample data sources, this is the textbook for social scientists looking for a complete introduction to programming with Python and incorporating it into their research design and analysis. About the Author Preface Acknowledgements Your Online Resources PART ONE UNDERSTANDING PROGRAMMING 0 Introduction Who Is This Book for? Why This Book? Why Python? Why Python 3? “Grilled Cheese Programming”: A Methodology, A Manifesto Aims, Scope, Outcomes and Overview of the Book 1 What Is Programming? And What Could it Mean for Social Science Research? Defining Our Terms The Research Process as a Socio-technical Assemblage Working Interdisciplinarily Thinking in Script/Developmental Workflows 2 Programming-as-Social-Science (Critical Coding) Coding Social Injustice and Justice into the World Ethical Considerations of Programming as Social Science What Can/Should We Do with Python? Summary of Part One PART TWO BASIC PYTHON GRAMMAR, SYNTAX AND CONCEPTS 3 Setting Up to Start Coding Getting Started with Python Commenting 4 Core Concepts/Objects Variables Mathematical Operations and Comparison/Equality Flow Control (and Whitespace) 5 Structuring Objects Lists and List Methods Tuples and Tuple Methods Dictionaries and Dictionary Methods Strings and String Methods 6 Building Better Code with (Slightly) More Complex Concepts/Objects Functions Loops and List Comprehension 7 Building New Objects with Classes Classes 8 Useful Extra Concepts/Practices Installing Modules Importing Modules Timing Your Code Creating Script Interfaces with Inputs Commenting and Documenting Code Effectively Summary of Part Two PART THREE WORKING WITH PYTHON 9 Designing Research That Features Programming Design as a Social Scientific Activity Practicalities 10 Working with Text Files Show Me the Code! Some Possible Applications/Projects 11 Data Collection: Using Social Media APIs Getting Your Authentication Credentials Show Me the Code! Some Possible Applications/Projects 12 Data Decoding/Encoding in Popular Formats (CSV, JSON and XML) Show Me the Code! Reading from the Web Show Me the Code! CSV Data Show Me the Code! JSON Data Show Me the Code! XML Data Some Possible Applications/Projects 13 Data Collection: Web Scraping Show Me the Code! Doing Detective Work in HTML Show Me the Code! Web Scraping with BeautifulSoup Some Possible Applications/Projects 14 Visualising Data Show Me the Code! Pandas Show Me the Code! Matplotlib Some Possible Applications/Projects Summary of Part Three PART FOUR PROGRAMMING-AS-SOCIAL-SCIENCE 15 Conclusion: Using Your Programming-as-Social-Science Mindset A Few Final Points Reflecting on What We’re Doing When We’re Doing Programming-as-Social-Science References Index