New forms of data for the social sciences: Smarter cities, more efficient organisations, and healthier communities. Wednesday 3rd November 2015, UCL, London, United Kingdom

1. David De Roure
@dder
New Forms of Data
for e-Research
DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD E-RESEARCH CENTRE

2. ChristineBorgman

3. More people
Moremachines
Big Data
Big Compute
Conventional
Computation
“Big Social”
Social Networks
e-infrastructure
online
R&D
New forms
of data
deeply
about
society
Thefuture

4. New Forms of Data
▶ Internet data, derived from social
media and other online interactions
(including data gathered by
connected people and devices, eg
mobile devices, wearable
technology, Internet of Things)
▶ Tracking data, monitoring the
movement of people and objects
(including GPS/geolocation data,
traffic and other transport sensor
data, CCTV images etc)
▶ Satellite and aerial imagery (eg
Google Earth, Landsat, infrared,
radar mapping etc) http://www.oecd.org/sti/sci-tech/new-data-for-
understanding-the-human-condition.htm

5. New Research Questions
▶ Social media data offers
the possibility of studying
social processes as they
unfold at the level of
populations, as an
alternative to traditional
surveys or interviews.
▶ The data from social media
is described as "qualitative
data on a quantitative
scale" and requires
innovative analysis
techniques.
Social media
data and real
time
analytics

6. New Social Processes
FundraisingThroughDigital:Howclicktivists,slacktivistsand
hacktivistsarehelpingusbeatcancersooner—MichaelDocherty
Photographs: Cancer Research UK

7. Social Media Triangle
social media
data and
analytics
social media for
engagement with
research
social media
as a subject
of research
Sam McGregor

8. A rehearsal for the future
▶ The Internet of Things
describes a world in which
everyday objects are
connected to a network so that
data can be shared
▶ But it is really as much about
people as the inanimate object
▶ It is impossible to anticipate
all the social changes that
could be created by connecting
billions of devices
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/internet-of-things-blackett-review

9. F i r s t

10. Social
Machines
Defini/on
TBL
Pip Willcox

12. “Panoptes has been designed so
that it’s easier for us to update
and maintain, and to allow
more powerful tools for project
builders. It’s also open source
from the start, and if you find
bugs or have suggestions about
the new site you can note them
on Github (or, if you’re so
inclined, contribute to the
codebase yourself).”
"
http://blog.zooniverse.org/2015/06/29/a-whole-new-zooniverse/
http://monsterspedia.wikia.com/wiki/File:Argus-Panoptes.jpg
Panoptes

13. Data Detect Store AnalyticsFilter Analysts
@dder

14. Edwards, P. N., et al. (2013) Knowledge Infrastructures: Intellectual Frameworks and
Research Challenges. Ann Arbor: Deep Blue. http://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/97552

15. A computationally-enabled
sense-making network of
expertise, data, software,
models and narratives
Big Data, in a
Big Data Centre

16. The
R
Dimensions
Research
Objects
facilitate
research
that
is
reproducible,
repeatable,
replicable,
reusable,
referenceable,
retrievable,
reviewable,
replayable,
re-­‐interpretable,
reprocessable,
recomposable,
reconstructable,
repurposable,
reliable,
respecDul,
reputable,
revealable,
recoverable,
restorable,
reparable,
refreshable?”
@dder 14 April 2014
sci
method
access
understand
new
use
social
cura/on
Research
Object
Principles
De Roure, D. 2014. The future
of scholarly communications.
Insights: the UKSG journal,
27, (3), 233-238.
DOI 10.1629/2048-7754.171

17. ATI
intersec/ons
• Established computationally demanding social science
includes simulation, modelling
• Social media analytics, working with real time data
and not just text but image and video
• Conducting analyses and visualisations interactively
• Data linkage, and protection of privacy, are
algorithmically demanding
• Revisiting established methods, for example in
machine learning
• Cybersecurity

18. david.deroure@oerc.ox.ac.uk @dder
http://www.slideshare.net/davidderoure/new-forms-of-data-for-eresearch

19. www.oerc.ox.ac.uk
david.deroure@oerc.ox.ac.uk
@dder