Derick S. Baum

I am a quantitative sociologist who develops and applies statistical and computational methods to address substantive questions in the social sciences. I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Georgia.

I received my Ph.D. and A.M. in Sociology from Harvard University and my B.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where I double-majored in Sociology and Mathematics. Before joining UGA, I was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Brown University, where I held a Quantitative Research Methods Fellowship and was primarily affiliated with the Population Studies and Training Center (PSTC).

Substantively, I use network data to study patterns of social interaction and disparities in access to social resources. My research asks questions such as: What individual characteristics are associated with larger personal networks? What barriers shape contact across groups defined by sociodemographic characteristics, religious affiliation, or occupational position? Addressing these questions can provide valuable insights into the population-level distribution of social capital and the processes that strengthen or erode social cohesion. In a paper currently under review, I also extend these concerns to the study of political polarization in the United States.

Methodologically, I develop statistical models and software for analyzing network data and answering these substantive questions. I also examine data quality in survey-based network measurement and develop strategies to improve the design and collection of network data. Beyond social networks, my methodological research extends to two additional areas: (1) decomposition methods in social demography, including a paper recently accepted for publication in Sociological Methodology and a separate manuscript currently under review; and (2) causal inference in settings characterized by complex interdependencies among variables.