在過去 25 年間,許多新的計算機功能已經(jīng)轉(zhuǎn)換為實踐社會和行為研究, 計算機在每個方面之內(nèi)對于社會研究來說發(fā)揮了巨大的作用。 包括許多對以前來說不太可能工作，如文本的分析和一些以前不能做到的分析,而這些在數(shù)年以前是不可能完成的。
當(dāng)我們進入新的世紀(jì)時候 , 社會科學(xué)的水平急劇地加速。直到 19世紀(jì)80 年代早期因為價格和當(dāng)時主流的社會科學(xué)家開始打算獲得新型的計算機的原因，所以導(dǎo)致普通的微型計算機的性能的發(fā)展。這個主意是明顯的因為其他的原因, 但是無論如何它是情緒的反應(yīng)，沒有人宣稱不需要的學(xué)習(xí)更多有關(guān)計算機的知識。唯一的主要不合適是在人們明確地的基礎(chǔ)上為了要快速地發(fā)

During the past 25 years many new computer capabilities have transformed the practice of social and behavioral research, Computer continue to be drawn into every facet of social research. including such unlikely tasks as textual analysis and field note-taking, which were totally untouched by computers only a few years ago.
This transformation of the social sciences dramatically accelerated when we entered the new century. It was not until the early 1980s that the price and performance of the average microcomputer had evolved to the point when typical social scientists began to comtenpalte acquiring desktop computers. Such idear was more obtrsive for some than for others, but whatever the emotional reaction, no one claim ed immunity from the need to learn more about computers. The only major disagreement was over what people specifically need to know in order to avoid obsolescence from the rapidly advancing technology of computing.