Speeding Up Social Science

The scope of this research cooperation between the groups of Prof. Ratkovic, Prof. Gschwend and Springer Nature is to investigate how AI may support researchers in writing scientific articles.

The kick-off event for this project was a very successful hackaton in September 2024 in which 22 international students joined the project team in Mannheim. Each of them brought their own ready-to publish research data with them. After an introductory session the students were divided into two groups – one of them was given access to AI tools to aid their writing process, the other was working on their drafts in the traditional way. At several checkpoints both groups gave feedback on their experiences and compared their progress. After the event both groups were given access to the tools for a limited time to level the field. 

Finally, all students were given the opportunity to submit their finished manuscripts to Springer Nature's Humanities and Social Science Communications (HSSC) for publication in a dedicated special issue – provided they pass the regular peer reviewing process.

The original Call for Participation can be found in our News Archive, the detailed results are discussed in the pre-print article linked below.