Topic: Big Data is Not About the Data!

Speaker:Gary King, Albert J. Weatherhead III University Professor,Harvard University

Moderator:Zhong Yang(钟杨),Professorand Dean,School of International and Public Affairs, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (上海交通大学国际与公共事务学院) 

Time: 9:30a.m-11:30 a.m, January4 2017

Venue: A301, Pao Sui Loong Library, Xuhui Campus, Shanghai Jiao Tong University（上海交通大学徐汇校区，包兆龙图书馆A301室）

Abstract（演讲主要内容）: The spectacular progress the media describes as "big data" has little to do with the data. Data, after all, is becoming commoditized, less expensive, and an automatic byproduct of other changes in organizations and society. More data alone doesn't generate insights; it often merely makes data analysis harder. The real revolution isn't about the data. It is about the stunning progress in the statistical and other methods of extracting insights from the data. These points will be illustrated with a wide range of examples from research I've participated in, including forecasting the solvency of Social Security; how the same methods can estimate the causes of death in developing countries and understand billions of social media posts; an educational innovation that guarantee that students will do the reading; among others.

Bio（演讲嘉宾简介）: Professor Gary King is the Albert J. Weatherhead III University Professor at Harvard University -- one of 24 with Harvard's most distinguished faculty title -- and Director of the Institute for Quantitative Social Science. ProfessorKing develops and applies empirical methods in many areas of social science research, focusing on innovations that span the range from statistical theory to practical application.

Professor King is an elected Fellow in 8 honorary societies (National Academy of Sciences 2010, National Academy of Social Insurance 2014, American Statistical Association 2009, American Association for the Advancement of Science 2004, American Academy of Arts and Sciences 1998, Society for Political Methodology 2008, American Academy of Political and Social Science 2004, and the Guggenheim Foundation 1994-5) and has won more than 40 "best of" awards for his work (including the Warren E. Miller Award for Meritorious Service to the Social Sciences 2015, Social for Political Methodology Career Achievement Award 2010, McGraw-Hill Award 2006, Durr Award 2005, Gosnell Prize 1999 and 1997, Warren Miller Prize 2008, Outstanding Statistical Application Award 2000, Donald Campbell Award 1997, Eulau Award 1995, Mills Award 1993, Pi Sigma Alpha Award 2005, 1998, and 1993, APSA Research Software Award 2005, 1997, 1994, and 1992, Okidata Best Research Software Award 1999, Okidata Best Research Web Site Award 1999, Mendelsohn Excellence in Mentoring Award 2011, Kellogg/Notre Dame Award 2014, among others).

ProfessorKing was elected President of the Society for Political Methodology (1997-1999) and Vice President of the American Political Science Association (2003-2004). He has been a member of the Senior Editorial Board at Science (2015-), Visiting Fellow at Oxford (1994), and Senior Science Adviser to the World Health Organization (1998-2003). His more than 150 journal articles, 20 open source software packages, and 8 books span most aspects of political methodology, many fields of political science, and several other scholarly disciplines.