Sobre las limitaciones de Big Data en ciencias sociales. (Spanish)

On the limits of Big Data in social sciences. (English)

Big Data has burst as a promising technological infrastructure, as a guarantee for great advances in social sciences. The massive data collection about habits and characteristics of mobile device users has been suggested as the key to reach an accurate description of the society and its individuals. However, the enthusiasm concerning this new data source and its interconnection capability (social networks, online shopping, etc.) could suppose a non- insignificant threat to a suitable scientific progress, raising some kind of technological Neoqueteletism, and making the world's "datification" be mistaken for world's comprehension. So, there is a risk of transferring the attention to the data alone ignoring context and methodology. Big Data can be a remarkable contribution; however, any misunderstanding may be seriously misleading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Big Data ha irrumpido como una prometedora infraestructura tecnológica, garantía de grandes progresos en ciencias sociales. La recogida masiva de información sobre hábitos y características de los usuarios de dispositivos móviles se propone como clave para una descripción precisa de la sociedad y sus individuos. No obstante, el entusiasmo ante esta nueva fuente de datos descubierta y su posibilidad de interconexión (redes sociales, compras online, etc.) podría suponer una nada desdeñable amenaza para un adecuado progreso científico, que diera origen a cierto neoqueteletismo tecnológico que confunda la datificación del mundo con su comprensión. Surge así el riesgo de transferir la atención a los datos, desatendiéndose contexto y metodología. Big Data puede suponer una importante contribución, pero una mala comprensión podría tornarla engañosa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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