A new institute-wide joint research project, "Methodology of Social Sciences: How to Measure Phenomena and Values," was established in 2021 by the Institute of Social Science, University of Tokyo. The goal of this project is to reexamine the evolution of social science research, paying particular attention to recent methodological innovations offered by "Artificial Intelligence" and "Big Data".

The project explores how different social science disciplines have studied societal phenomena, and how they have conceptualized and measured topics in common, such as subjective values and preferences. The purpose of doing so is to better visualize diversity in values, improve our understanding of social contexts, and examine the misuse and political use of "measurement" itself.

This institute-wide joint research project consists of five pillars: Social Science of Measurement; COVID-19 and Social Science; Methods of Jurisprudence; Philosophy of Social Science; Historical and Contemporary Ideas. Each pillar will work in concert on themes of common interest and will collaborate in the production of research publications. Moreover, we will collaborate with researchers from other departments within the University of Tokyo, including in the natural sciences, to explore new academic possibilities for the fusion of scientific disciplines. The planned project period is 4 years.

As the Institute of Social Science celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2021, this project aims to reexamine theoretical and empirical approaches used in the social sciences and reenvision a "Methodology of Social Sciences" that is suitable for the 21st century and beyond.

Project Leader
Shigeki UNO