Big Data in Communication Research: Its Contents and Discontents

I had two goals in mind when I decided to dedicate a special issue of the Journal of Communication to “Big Data.” One was to provide an outlet for the growing number of excellent Big Data studies on mass communication, digital technologies, political communication, health communication, and many other areas of interest to our discipline. My focus was on empirical papers that made substantive contributions using newmethods, rather than on explanations, endorsements, or critiques of the Big Data movement.The goal was to showcase the state of the art in recent research in computational communication science. My second goal was to provide a benchmark for research innovation. Big Data research is still in its infancy in communication. Relatively little of the work done in this early stage will stand the test of time, but all of it will likely be critical in the on going process of conceptual andmethodological advance.The articles featured in this issue represent the best of what is currently being done. Their strengths will guide future work, but so, too, will their limitations.