About me

I am a political scientist and Senior Researcher in the Department Computational Social Science at GESIS in Cologne. My research is situated in the fields of political communication, digital media, comparative politics and computational social science.

Recent work has been published in journals such as Political Communication, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the International Journal of Press/Politics and West European Politics. I am leading collaborative projects funded by the Volkswagen Foundation and the German Research Foundation DFG. I am also a member of the editorial board of Political Communication.

Research interests

  • Political communication and public opinion
  • Digital media and their effects
  • Comparative politics
  • Populism
  • Computational social science
  • Automated text analysis

Featured Publications

Sebastian Stier, Caterina Froio, Wolf J. Schünemann (2020). Going transnational? Candidates' transnational linkages on Twitter during the 2019 European Parliament elections. West European Politics.

Project DOI

Michael Scharkow, Frank Mangold, Sebastian Stier, Johannes Breuer (2020). How social network sites and other online intermediaries increase exposure to news. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

PDF DOI

Sebastian Stier, Johannes Breuer, Pascal Siegers, Kjerstin Thorson (2020). Integrating Survey Data and Digital Trace Data: Key Issues in Developing an Emerging Field. Social Science Computer Review.

PDF DOI

Sebastian Stier, Nora Kirkizh, Caterina Froio, Ralph Schroeder (2020). Populist attitudes and selective exposure to online news – A cross-country analysis combining web tracking and surveys. The International Journal of Press/Politics.

PDF Project DOI

Sebastian Stier, Arnim Bleier, Haiko Lietz, Markus Strohmaier (2018). Election Campaigning on Social Media: Politicians, Audiences, and the Mediation of Political Communication on Facebook and Twitter. Political Communication.

PDF DOI

Projects

Negative Campaigning in German elections: Measurement, Dynamics, and Determinants

Funded by the German Research Foundation DFG (2021-2023)

Tracking the effects of negative political communication during election campaigns in online and offline communication environments

Funded by the German Research Foundation DFG (2021-2024)

What do ‘the people’ want? Digital Media and Populism in Europe and the U.S.

Funded by the Volkswagen Foundation (2018-2021)

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