Big Data in the Arts and Humanities by Giovanni Schiuma

Author:Giovanni Schiuma
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781351172585
Publisher: CRC Press

Conclusion

On balance, the emergence of big data has been a very positive development for historical research, as has been shown previously. However, it is important not to exaggerate its impact. As Gooding, Terras, and Warwick (2013, 631) observe, there is a need to make realistic assessments of the benefits of large-scale digitization on scholarly activity. Furthermore, as Sharpe (2015, 339–340) observes in her obituary of the economic historian Joan Thirsk, “As a glance at recent economic history journals makes clear, the meticulous investigation of detail is extinguished by statistical comparisons of what is often meaningless ‘big data’… Datasets, often founded on highly spurious hypotheses heaped upon other hypotheses, provide a quick fix in the rush to publish.” Sharpe’s observation echoes the cautionary articles of Abel (2013) and Hibbs (2013). It is clear that historians need to analyze big data with the same rigor they applied to primary sources in the pre-mass digitization era.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.