Social science approaches to e-science: Framing an agenda

Abstract

The use of advanced high performance computing tools across the sciences, social sciences, and humanities has rapidly expanded in recent years. Several programs have been initiated under the umbrella of e-science with large-scale funding and a wide range of projects. The vision underlying these programs is that new tools will greatly enhance research and enable new forms of global collaboration. This article maps out the different social science approaches to e-science and provides illustrations of how they have been deployed. The aim is to highlight the diversity of these approaches, show complementarities among them, and point to how they may shape the e-science enterprise in years to come. © 2007 International Communication Association.