Explore the intersection of large-scale text analysis and social science research in this 38-minute conference talk by Dr. Jacob Eisenstein. Delve into the methodological challenges and interdisciplinary opportunities presented by using big data to study linguistic and cultural phenomena. Learn about innovative approaches to discovering new linguistic variables, tracking language change, and analyzing hate speech on social media platforms. Gain insights into sociolinguistic research methods, from classic studies to cutting-edge applications of natural language processing and machine learning techniques. Examine case studies on Twitter language evolution and Reddit content analysis, and consider the ethical implications of defining and detecting hate speech in online communities.