School of Social and Political Science

Background

Our understanding of rapidly changing technologies, and their human and systemic impact, remains insufficient. This requires a departure from established approaches. My work tackles these significant issues. I am a computational social scientist; my background is in AI and natural language processing, and my work is interdisciplinary at heart, combining cutting-edge ideas and methods. I develop and apply computational text-analysis techniques to answer research questions that are grounded in political science methodology and theory.   

My research focuses on how AI and Machine Learning methods can be developed and used to understand political views, identity, and behaviour in massive data sets such as news, social media, and archives. I really enjoy sharing my knowledge of coding, AI, and machine learning, and my experimental and procedural skills to support safer, more accountable technology in public-sector and democratic contexts. I have supported Scottish, UK, EU, and US government stakeholders through data-informed research on AI, digital influence, and policy engagement. 

I provide innovative research methods and techniques that add to knowledge and can be used within multiple disciplines. I develop and published methodologies on the collection, storage, analysis, and visualisation of data for social science including journal articles in Political Science, the Digital Humanities, and Computer Science.

I have engaged in significant, sustained public engagement with research, representing the university externally. My research has changed the public narrative on the Brexit vote. It has reached both policymakers and the public at large and is of significant public interest. Awareness has been raised on the use and misuse of social media in political campaigning. This has become a significant issue at the public, media, and government levels.