|
Content:
|
While we understand
the benefits of accessing and harvesting Open
Data, there is an epistemological problem with this: there is too much of it and we look for small patterns to
address social, economic or political issues by asking relevant
questions. The common approach is to first consider technological solutions–data mining, data analytics, visualization etc.—to the epistemological problem, to try to ‘squeeze’ data back into a manageable size. These tools certainly deserve an in-depth analysis, but true answer
is an altogether different approach: data sets
need to be curated to preserve only those worth preserving. We claim that
the data (r)evolution
needs to be accompanied
by a paradigm shift in information
management practices in order
to largely transform back-end business processes, archiving, and ICT infrastructural
operations which are concerned with making data visible assets inside or outside the organizations. Records/Information
life-cycle management theories
have been used for decades by records and other information professionals to manage
government records from
creation to disposal, but not necessarily
for public use: these professional practices have always been more focused on compliance, and the liability attached to analog information or information provided as analog and digital documents with
clear authorship rather
than more granular and structured data kept in data repositories/warehouses in a distributed manner.The
case study on Romani minorities across Europe and the distributed data sets produced by more than 12 non-profit organizations for almost two decades will provide a useful insight into Big Data challenges of curation
and preservation.
|
|
Keywords:
|
big data,
civil society, open data, good
governance, data epistemology,
digital curation,
|