The Impact of Digital Platforms on Social Science Research: Managing Data Communication and Collaboration Across Disciplines

Digital spaces (e.g., collaborative tools (e.g. Slack, Teams), open data repositories, and cloud-based analysis services) have radically transformed social science research, enabling interdisciplinary communication, data sharing, and collaborative knowledge production. The paper will explore the role of these platforms in shaping research practices with reference to three major functions, including: seamless data exchange, real-time collaboration and cross-disciplinary integration of methods. Based on secondary qualitative research using peer-reviewed articles, institutional reports, and practitioner case studies on the adoption of researchers, data governance issues, and innovation dynamics published in 2020-2024, the analysis examines the trends in the researcher adoption, data governance issues, and innovation dynamics.