CODE 8: Josh Cowls about the Challenges of Big Data
The use of Big Data presents numerous challenges to researchers and their projects. Josh Cowls is working at the Oxford Internet Institute and he tries to develop a greater understanding of the impact of new technology on society, democracy and everyday life. In this interview we talk about three challenges of using Big Data for valid research: epistemological, methodological and political: Is there a shift from causal to correlational research? What methods can be used to deal with different forms of data? And who creates the data, and who is affected by its use?