Comparing Social Science and Computer Science Workflow Processes for Studying Group Interactions

Abstract

In this article, a team of authors from the Geeks and Groupies workshop, in Leiden, the Netherlands, compare prototypical approaches to studying group interaction in social science and computer science disciplines, which we call workflows. To help social and computer science scholars understand and manage these differences, we organize workflow into three major stages: research design, data collection, and analysis. For each stage, we offer a brief overview on how scholars from each discipline work. We then compare those approaches and identify potential synergies and challenges. We conclude our article by discussing potential directions for more integrated and mutually beneficial collaboration that go beyond the producer–consumer model.