Patricia Cruz

Computational social science and AI learning

I study how social and economic differences shape who uses, trusts and learns with AI. I program fluently in Python and R, and I work with survey data, social networks and text.

Before my MSc I spent eight years running IT and support at a school in Brazil, four of them also teaching programming. I hold degrees in computer science, systems analysis and development, science and technology, and law.

MSc Computational Social Science, Linköping University. Swedish Institute Scholar. Research intern at the Institute for Analytical Sociology.

Methods I work with Five methods: surveys, networks, text, simulation and education research. Lines join methods that meet in one project: survey distance matrices, network diffusion models, adolescent friendship networks, an AI literacy study, and an analysis of university AI guidance. Distance matrices from survey data (research internship) Diffusion on small-world, scale-free and random networks (NetLogo) Friendship networks among secondary-school students (RSiena) AI use and trust among university students (proposal) How Nordic universities write about generative AI Surveys Networks Text Simulation Education
Each line is a project that joins two methods.

Highlights

Full background
  • 2026

    Supervised research internship, Institute for Analytical Sociology

    Linköping University. Working on a method that places survey-based distance matrices on the surface of a sphere and tests whether it preserves them better than flat PCA and MDS maps.

  • 2026

    Working paper: Who Accepts AI at Work?

    Independent, survey-weighted analysis of 26,404 respondents across the EU27 using Special Eurobarometer 554.

  • 2026

    Nordic University AI Policy Tracker

    Designed and built an open-source Python pipeline that collects and codes university guidance on generative AI in five Nordic countries.

  • 2026

    Conference volunteer, European Conference on Social Networks (EUSN 2026)

    Supported the running of the 8th EUSN, hosted by the Institute for Analytical Sociology in Norrköping in August.

  • 2024

    Education & Technology Impact AwardAward

    For the programming course I designed and taught for students from low-income communities in Brazil.

  • 2025

    Swedish Institute ScholarshipAward

    Awarded to international students with strong academic records and leadership potential. Funds my MSc at Linköping University.

Selected research

All projects
In progress

Spherical maps of survey-based distance matrices

Flat PCA and MDS maps distort distances between respondents, parties or countries. I test whether placing the same distance matrix on the surface of a sphere preserves it better, comparing Kruskal stress across both approaches.

Data
European Social Survey, Swedish party survey data
Setting
Supervised research internship
Working paper in progress

Who accepts AI at work?

Across the EU, how comfortable people feel with AI at work depends far more on their own digital skills than on education or age. People who have already met AI at work are more accepting, and financial precarity lowers acceptance in a way digital skills do not explain.

Data
Special Eurobarometer 554, n = 26,404
Tools
R, Quarto
Pilot

Nordic University AI Policy Tracker

A reproducible pipeline that collects and codes official university guidance on generative AI. It scores each policy on two separate axes, restriction and pedagogical support, instead of a single strict versus permissive scale.

Scope
Five universities, one per Nordic country
Tools
Python, spaCy, BERTopic, Streamlit