Connelly Roxanne, Playford Christopher J, Gayle Vernon, Dibben Chris
Department of Sociology, University of Warwick, Social Sciences Building, The University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK.
Administrative Data Research Centre - Scotland, University of Edinburgh, 9 Edinburgh Bioquarter, Little France Road, Edinburgh, EH16 4UX, UK.
Soc Sci Res. 2016 Sep;59:1-12. doi: 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2016.04.015. Epub 2016 Apr 14.
The term big data is currently a buzzword in social science, however its precise meaning is ambiguous. In this paper we focus on administrative data which is a distinctive form of big data. Exciting new opportunities for social science research will be afforded by new administrative data resources, but these are currently under appreciated by the research community. The central aim of this paper is to discuss the challenges associated with administrative data. We emphasise that it is critical for researchers to carefully consider how administrative data has been produced. We conclude that administrative datasets have the potential to contribute to the development of high-quality and impactful social science research, and should not be overlooked in the emerging field of big data.
“大数据”一词目前在社会科学领域是个流行语，但其确切含义却模糊不清。在本文中，我们聚焦于行政数据，它是大数据的一种独特形式。新的行政数据资源将为社会科学研究带来令人兴奋的新机遇，但目前研究界对这些机遇的重视程度不够。本文的核心目的是探讨与行政数据相关的挑战。我们强调，研究人员仔细考虑行政数据的产生方式至关重要。我们得出结论，行政数据集有潜力推动高质量且有影响力的社会科学研究发展，在大数据这个新兴领域中不应被忽视。
