“Big Data: Is it for me? What it is, how to use it”

• In Event: The Use of Publicly Available Big Data Sets in Developmental Science

Abstract

The term big data has many meanings. From an international perspective, I’ll discuss some types and their potential use in child development research: large scale surveys collected for other purposes than developmental science, and administrative records. I address developmental scientists with little previous experience of big data. Such data can provide venues for creative research designs expanding work previously done in small-scale data. I will cover: a) Motivational examples, including testing effects of programs or policies, testing theories about developmental processes, and contextualizing smaller datasets and addressing broader developmental frameworks, like socio-ecological theory; b) Where to find and how to link big data sources, including administrative and population records, data depositories; c) What it takes to use big data sources, including psychometrics, programming skills, causal and longitudinal modeling techniques. I conclude that the added value of big data for developmental science is primarily in strengthening internal and external validity.

Author

• Henrik D. Zachrisson, University of Oslo
  Presenting Author