Zithelelene amanzi emcengezini izinsizwa ezimbili ezazikade zingamathe nolimi zaxatshaniswa ingoma. Ngokusho kukaGovozile, impi ebikade ikhona phakathi kwabe eyagcina ifaka uMdonso “Obekunzima kakhulu kule sizini ukuyodlala neMaritzburg enkundleni yayo. Bekungelula kuwona wonke amaqembu kwiPremiership. Angicabangi ukuthi likhona iqembu ebelithanda ukuya eHarry Gwala kule sizini. Wonke amaqembu athwale kanzima ukuyihlula eMaritzburg.” We are still in the early days of social research in the digital age, and I’ve seen some misunderstandings that are so fundamental and so common that it makes the most sense for me to address them here, in the preface. From data scientists, I’ve seen two common misunderstandings. The first is thinking that more data automatically solves problems. But, for social research that has not been my experience. In fact, for social research new types of data, as opposed to more of the same data, seems to be most helpful. The second misunderstanding that I’ve seen from data scientists is thinking that social science is just a bunch of fancy-talk wrapped around common sense. Of course, as a social scientist—more specifically as a sociologist—I don’t agree with that; I think that social science has a lot of to offer. Smart people have been working hard to understand human behavior for a long time, and it seems unwise to ignore the wisdom that has accumulated from this effort. My hope is that this book will offer you some of that wisdom in a way that is easy to understand.