What is your definition of Big Data? Researchers' understanding of the phenomenon of the decade.

ABSTRACT: METHODS:Thirty-nine interviews were performed with Swiss and American researchers involved in Big Data research in relevant fields. The interviews were analyzed using thematic coding. RESULTS:No univocal definition of Big Data was found among the respondents and many participants admitted uncertainty towards giving a definition of Big Data. A few participants described Big Data with the traditional "Vs" definition-although they could not agree on the number of Vs. However, most of the researchers preferred a more practical definition, linking it to processes such as data collection and data processing. CONCLUSION:The study identified an overall uncertainty or uneasiness among researchers towards the use of the term Big Data which might derive from the tendency to recognize Big Data as a shifting and evolving cultural phenomenon. Moreover, the currently enacted use of the term as a hyped-up buzzword might further aggravate the conceptual vagueness of Big Data.

SUBMITTER: Favaretto M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7041862 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature