The social side of data - data work / the work of data analyst
Contact person: Tone Bratteteig
Keywords: design of data- data as indicators- effects of data-driven technologies- the control of data in data-driven systems
Research group: Design of Information Systems (DESIGN)
Department of Informatics
Data needs context to be meaningful. Data is always interpreted in a context and by people, and is not something in itself. Data are categories, and these can have huge impact on people’s lives in e.g., race in apartheid. A study of indicators give insight into the roles that data play in contemporary society. Data are social constructs that we design to do things in the world.
Studies of data scientists describe how they work with data as “discovery, capture, curation, design, creation”. Data is human-made representations of selected aspects of real phenomena in the world. Deciding on data, indicators and representational forms is a social and political process, but also the technology delimits what can be represented. Over time aspects of a phenomenon that are not represented disappear or become less important. Studying how data gets made and how data is used enable understanding of effects of data-driven technologies.
External partners:
- Public organisation about their collection and use of data
Mentoring and internship will be offered by a relevant external partner.