Social Science Space

Hamish Robertson and Joanne Travaglia argue that big data quantification is now not only a mechanism for extracting information but has become an idea with social and political power in its own right. The lack of critique of quantitative methods and their application contributes to the existing and potentially coercive power of digital information systems and their attendant methods, and enhances the potential for collateral damage.

Who would have more valuable feedback than the people being assisted about how or why a program is meeting their genuine needs or not. Using ‘behavioral mapping,’ researchers can design better interventions based on real-life data and not the researchers’ own assumptions.