Geography and the Future of Big Data, Big Data and the Future of Geography

Graham, M., and Shelton, T. (2013) Geography and the Future of Big Data, Big Data and the Future of Geography. Dialogues in Human Geography 3(3) 255-261

9 Pages Posted: 12 Dec 2013

See all articles by Mark Graham

Mark Graham

University of Oxford - Oxford Internet Institute

Taylor Shelton

University of Kentucky

Date Written: December 10, 2013

Abstract

As digital social data have become increasingly ubiquitous, many have turned their attention to harnessing these massive datasets in order to produce purportedly more accurate and complete understandings of social processes. This intervention addresses the relationships between geography and big data and their intertwined futures. We focus on the impacts of an age of big data on the discipline of geography and geographic thought and methodology, as well as how geography might provide a useful lens through which to understand big data as a social phenomenon in its own right. Ultimately, we see significant potential in big data, but remain skeptical of the prevalent discourses around it, as they tend to obscure, more than reveal, the complexity of social and spatial processes.

Keywords: Big data, Geographic thought, Positivism

Suggested Citation

Graham, Mark and Shelton, Taylor, Geography and the Future of Big Data, Big Data and the Future of Geography (December 10, 2013). Graham, M., and Shelton, T. (2013) Geography and the Future of Big Data, Big Data and the Future of Geography. Dialogues in Human Geography 3(3) 255-261, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2366030

Mark Graham (Contact Author)

University of Oxford - Oxford Internet Institute ( email )

1 St. Giles
University of Oxford
Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3JS
United Kingdom

HOME PAGE: http://www.geospace.co.uk

Taylor Shelton

University of Kentucky

Lexington, KY 40506
United States

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