Dr Sandra Gonzalez-Bailon

Sandra Gonzalez-Bailon is a sociologist interested in the internet, social networks, and political engagement. Her research uses large-scale data to analyse the structure and content of political discussions, and how interactions evolve over time.
Email: sandra.gonzalezbailon@oii.ox.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)1865 287233
Profile
Sandra Gonzalez-Bailon graduated in sociology at the University of Barcelona. She came to Oxford as an MSc student, graduating with distinction at Lady Margaret Hall (2003-2004), and moved on to complete her DPhil in Sociology as a member of Nuffield College (2004-2007). Prior to coming to the OII, she held an ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship in the department of Sociology (2007-2008). She is still affiliated to Nuffield College as a Research Fellow, where she co-organises the OII-Nuffield Social Networks Seminar Series.
Sandra is broadly interested in how internet technologies shape the flow of information and how online networks influence exposure to ideas and debates. She is involved in several projects that explore the structure and evolution of political discussion networks, and that use the contents of those discussions to track public opinion. More information about these projects can be found on the projects page of her website.
Sandra is an editor of the OII-edited journal Policy and Internet.
Research interests
Internet and political engagement, threaded conversations, discussion networks, online deliberation, public opinion, sentiment analysis, social networks
Positions held at the OII
- Research Fellow, September 2008 -
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Research
Current projects
Open Data and Civic Engagement: Mechanisms for the Promotion of Political Participation
January 2013 -
How effective are open data initiatives in encouraging civic engagement in policy-relevant domains?
Public Opinion Indicators in Online Communication
September 2012 - August 2013
This project examines the research potential of online communication to gauge public opinion by reviewing different methods to draw public opinion indicators from online communication, focusing on what the public thinks and how they think about it.
Big Data: Demonstrating the Value of the UK Web Domain Dataset for Social Science Research
February 2012 - July 2013
This project aims to enhance JISC's UK Web Domain archive, a 30 TB archive of the .uk country-code top level domain collected from 1996 to 2010. It will extract link graphs from the data and disseminate social science research using the collection.
Past projects
Leaders and Followers in Online Activism
January - December 2012
Where do political and policy-oriented mobilizations (such as e-petitions or organized protests) start and how are they sustained? What affects the propensity of people to join a mobilization, and hence, the mobilization's success?
Student Protests and Digital Media: The Campaign Against Tuition Fees
April - October 2011
How are digital media changing the way in which people mobilize for a collective cause? Why do some individuals take part in protest, and others not? These issues are investigated through the UK student campaign against raised tuition fees.
Social Feedback and the Emergence of Norms in the Production of Online Public Goods
April - October 2010
Investigating instances of collective action that have solved an old dilemma: why should people contribute to collective goods (eg online collaborative platforms) when, by being public, they can be enjoyed without making a contribution to their provision?
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Publications
Articles
- Gonzalez-Bailon, S. and Wang, N. (2013) The Bridges and Brokers of Global Campaigns in the Context of Social Media. Submitted.
- Borge-Holthoefer, Javier, Baños, Raquel A., Gonzalez-Bailon, Sandra and Moreno, Yamir (2013) Cascading Behaviour in Complex Socio-Technical Networks. Journal of Complex Networks.
- Gonzalez-Bailon, S., Borge-Holthoefer, J. and Moreno, Y. (2013) Broadcasters and Hidden Influentials in Online Protest Diffusion. American Behavioral Scientist. doi:10.1177/0002764213479371
- Gonzalez-Bailon, S., Banchs, R.E. and Kaltenbrunner, A. (2012) Emotions, Public Opinion and U.S. Presidential Approval Rates: A 5 Year Analysis of Online Political Discussions. Human Communication Research 38 (2) 121-143.
- Gonzalez-Bailon, S., Jennings, W. and Lodge, M. (2012) Politics in the Boardroom: Corporate Pay, Networks and Recruitment of Former Parliamentarians, Ministers and Civil Servants in Britain. Political Studies.
- Gonzalez-Bailon, S. and Murphy, T.E. (2012) Social Interactions and Long-Term Fertility Dynamics. A Simulation Experiment in the Context of the French Fertility Decline. Population Studies.
- Gonzalez-Bailon, S., Borge-Holthoefer, J., Rivero, A. and Moreno, Y. (2011) The Dynamics of Protest Recruitment Through an Online Network. Scientific Reports 1, 197. DOI: 10.1038/srep00197
- González-Bailón, S., Kaltenbrunner, A. and Banchs, R.E. (2010) The Structure of Political Discussion Networks: A Model for the Analysis of Online Deliberation. Journal of Information Technology 25 (2) 230-243.
- González-Bailón, S. (2009) Traps on the Web: the Impact of Economic Resources and Traditional News Media on Online Traffic Flow. Information, Communication & Society 12 (8) 1149-1173.
- González-Bailón, S. (2009) Opening the Black Box of Link Formation: Social Factors Underlying the Structure of the Web. Social Networks 31 (4) 271-280.
- González-Bailón, S. (2009) Redes y mecanismos de interdependencia: desarrollos teóricos más allá de los modelos de acción racional [Networks and Mechanisms of Interdependence: Theoretical Developments Beyond the Rational Action Model]. Revista Internacional de Sociologìa 67 (3) 537-558.
- González-Bailón, S. (2008) Review of Network Power. The Social Dynamics of Globalisation by David Singh Grewal. Primera Revista Latinoamericana de Libros 6.
- González-Bailón, S. (2006) The role of Dynamic Networks in Social Capital: a Simulation Experiment. Revista de Sociologìa 80: 171-194.
- González-Bailón, S. (2006) Joint review of On Sociology by J.H. Goldthorpe and Social Mechanisms edited by P. Hedstrôm and R.S. Swedberg. Papers. Revista de Sociologìa 80.
- González-Bailón, S. (2004) ¿Sociedades artificiales?: una introducción a la simulación social [Artificial Societies? An Introduction to Social Simulation]. Revista Internacional de Sociologìa 39: 199-222.
- González-Bailón, S. (2003) Review of Dynamic Social Network Modelling and Analysis: Workshop Summary and Papers edited by Ronald Breiger, Kathleen Carley and Philippa Pattison. Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation 6 (4).
- González-Bailón, S. (2002) Simulació i canvi social una aproximació evolucionària [Simulation and Social Change: an Evolutionary Approach]. Revista Catalana de Sociologia 18: 89-102.
- González-Bailón, S. (2000) Homo Sociologicus: the Action Guided by Social Norms. Revista Catalana de Sociologia 13.
Presentations
- González-Bailón, S., Jennings, W. and Lodge, M. (2009) The Private Gains of Public Office? Corporate Rewards of former High Public Officials in Britain. 5th UK Social Networks Conference, London, UK, 3-5 July 2009.
- González-Bailón, S. (2009) Political Discussion Networks and the Structure of Deliberation. Harvard Political Networks Conference, Cambridge, MA, 11-13 June 2009.
- González-Bailón, S. (2009) The Dynamics of Political Discussion Networks and Online Deliberation. Statistical Cybermetrics Research Group, University of Wolverhampton, UK, 25 March 2009.
- González-Bailón, S., Kaltenbrunner, A. and Banchs, R. (2009) Communities on the Web: Mechanisms Underlying the Emergence of Online Discussion Networks. WebSci'09: Society On-Line, Athens, Greece, 19-21 March 2009.
- González-Bailón, S. (2008) The Mechanisms of Decentralised Politics. The Structure and Evolution of Online Political Discussion Networks. QMSS-2 2008 Workshop on Communication Networks on the Web, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 18-19 December 2008.
- González-Bailón, S. (2008) Online Political Discussion Networks. The Impact of Internet Technologies on the Structure and Intensity of Interactions. Brown Bag Seminar Series, Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, 4 November 2008.
- González-Bailón, S. and Murphy, T.E. (2008) When Smaller Families Look Contagious: a Spatial Look at the French Fertility Decline using an Agent-Based Simulation Model. The 5th Conference of the European Social Simulation Association, Brescia, Italy, 1-5 September 2008.
- González-Bailón, S. (2008) When Smaller Families Look Contagious: a Spatial Look at the French Fertility Decline using an Agent-Based Simulation Model. The 38th World Congress of the International Institute of Sociology, Budapest, Hungary, 26-30 June 2008.
- González-Bailón, S. and Noguera, J.A. (2008) Labour Market Behaviour, Unconditional Benefits, and Social Mechanisms: An Agent-Based Model. The 38th World Congress of the International Institute of Sociology, Budapest, Hungary, 26-30 June 2008.
- González-Bailón, S. (2008) Traps on the Web: the Impact of Traditional Media on Online Traffic Flow. Forum of Research, Department of Political and Social Sciences, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain, 14 May 2008.
- González-Bailón, S. (2008) The Importance of Gaining an Audience: Visibility and Reach on the Web 2.0 Age. Politics Web 2.0: an International Conference, Royal Holloway, London, 17-18 April 2008.
- González-Bailón, S. (2008) The Inner Digital Divide: How the Web Contributes (or not) to Political Equality. General Online Research Conference, Hamburg, Germany, 10-12 March 2008.
- González-Bailón, S. (2008) The Inner Digital Divide: How the Web Contributes (or not) to Political Equality. Sunbelt XXVIII International Social Network Conference, St Pete Beach, FL, 22-27 January 2008.
- González-Bailón, S. (2007) The Inner Digital Divide: How the Web Contributes (or not) to Political Equality. Department of Sociology Seminar, University of Oxford, 12 November 2007.
- González-Bailón, S. (2007) The Structure of the Political Domain: Hierarchy and Prestige on the Web. Sunbelt XXVII International Social Network Conference, Corfu, Greece, 1-6 May 2007.
- González-Bailón, S. (2006) Asymmetries on the Web: Hierarchy and Prestige in the Political Domain. 3rd Conference on Applications of Social Network Analysis, Zurich, Switzerland, 5-6 October 2006.
- González-Bailón, S. and Pujol, J.M. (2005) On the Mechanisms Underlying Social Capital Networks: a Simulation Experiment. European Social Simulation Association Conference, Koblenz, Germany, 6-9 September 2005.
- González-Bailón, S. (2005) Social Capital and the Analysis of Civil Societies: an Account of Theoretical, Methodological and Empirical Flaws. The 37th World Congress of the International Institute of Sociology, Stockholm, Sweden, 5-9 July 2005.
- González-Bailón, S. (2005) The Role of Dynamic Networks in Social Capital: a Simulation Experiment. The 37th World Congress of the International Institute of Sociology, Stockholm, Sweden, 5-9 July 2005.
- González-Bailón, S. (2004) Social Capital and the role of Dynamic Networks: a Conceptual Clarification in the Field of Political Participation. Social Capital ECSR Summer School, Trento, Italy, 22-27 August 2004.
Theses
- González-Bailón, S. (2007) Mapping Civil Society on the Web: Networks, Alliances, and Informational Landscapes. DPhil Thesis, Nuffield College, University of Oxford.
Working papers
- Gonzalez-Bailon, S., Wang, N., Rivero, A., Borge-Holthoefer, J., and Moreno, Y. (2012) Assessing the Bias in Communication Networks Sampled from Twitter. Working Paper.
- González-Bailón, S. and Murphy, T.E. (2008) When Smaller Families Look Contagious: A Spatial Look at the French Fertility Decline Using an Agent-Based Simulation Model. Oxford University Discussion Papers in Economic and Social History 71.
- González-Bailón, S. (2008) The inner digital divide: How the web contributes (or not) to political equality. Working Paper Number 2008-02, Department of Sociology, University of Oxford (April).
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Teaching
Courses taught at the OII
Digital Era Government and Politics
Providing an in-depth understanding of the changing nature of digital-era governance and politics and the theoretical, practical and ethical questions surrounding the role of the Internet and related technologies in political life.
An introduction to the analysis of online social networks, providing students with the tools necessary to undertake research on online networks, and to give an overview of the type of questions that these data can answer.
Social Research Methods and the Internet I: Statistics Core
This course introduces students to statistics for the social sciences, with an emphasis on application to research on the Internet and society.
DPhil students supervised at the OII
Current students
Thesis title to be confirmed.
Thesis title to be confirmed.
Thesis title to be confirmed.
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Webcasts
Scale and Time: How to Slice Up Digital Data and Dig Up Relevant Trends
Recorded on: 29 May 2012 Duration: 00:21:39
Sandra Gonzalez-Bailon outlines the methodological challenges that social scientists should think about when analysing new media data. Recorded at a conference on new media and the social sciences, organised by the National Centre for Research Methods.
Society and the Internet Series. 9: Politics and Online Social Networks
Recorded on: 24 January 2011 Duration: 00:04:54
Sandra Gonzalez-Bailon discusses the main themes of her lecture in the OII's "Society and the Internet" lecture series; use of the Internet to engage in the political process, and the Internet's effect on declining civic participation.
Social Media, So What? Assessing the Impact of Blogs and Social Media
Recorded on: 18 September 2009 Duration: 00:44:27
Can Web 2.0 tools (eg blogs, social networking and wikis) enhance our democratic freedoms? Or can we dismiss the socially egalitarian and politically democratic potential of these social media? Have any significant social impacts been ignored so far?
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News
14 May 2013 Eldiario.es
Sandra Gonzalez-Bailon writes for Spanish language web site about the grass roots protest movement known as Los Indignados and also the 15-M Movement and the online mobilization of citizens against corruption and cuts.
From Chiapas to Tahrir. Networks and the Diffusion of Protest
16 April 2013 World Politics Review
Sandra Gonzalez-Bailon compares the communication methods used by the revolutionary Zapatista movement of the 1990s with those of the modern age that use new technologies and the Internet.
Barak Obama Facebook campaign sees 'likes' soar
10 October 2012 BBC Technology
Both candidates in the US Presidential race are using social media heavily to promote their cause. Commenting on evidence that this is not welcome to many voters, Sandra Gonzalez-Bailon says they must be wary of intruding on private digital lives.
6 April 2012 AlJazeera
Sandra Gonzalez-Bailon looks back on the online mediated protests of last year. Online networks reach a large number of people in a short time but what is left after the activity winds down? How much of a difference did the last revolution make?
Oxford research into online activism funded by Google
3 April 2012 University of Oxford
The Oxford Internet Institute has been awarded a grant of more than £40,000 to fund research into online political activism by Google. The year-long project will investigate which factors influence the success or failure online political mobilizations.
16 December 2011 BBC R4 Today Programme
What is the role of social media in the starting and spreading of mass movements? Sandra Gonzalez-Bailon talks about research, published in the journal Scientific Reports, which has been following trends on social networking sites such as Twitter.
Events
Computational Social Science: From Social Contagion to Collective Behaviour (ECCS '13)
Thursday 19 September 2013
This satellite meeting of the ECCS conference will address the question of ICT-mediated social phenomena emerging in multiple scales ranging from the interactions of individuals to the emergence of self-organized global movements.
Nuffield/OII Social Networks Seminar Series
Monday 29 April - Monday 10 June 2013
This a series of weekly seminars for fellows and students at the University of Oxford to discuss their research in an informal environment.
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Last updated on: 22 May 2013



