Beauty Is in the Eye of the (Data) Beholder: Behavioral Researchers' Dilemmas Using Behavioral Big Data

33 Pages Posted: 21 Sep 2016 Last revised: 14 May 2017

See all articles by Galit Shmueli

Galit Shmueli

Institute of Service Science, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan

Date Written: May 14, 2017

Abstract

Behavioral Big Data (BBD) refers to very large and rich multidimensional datasets on human and social behaviors, actions and interactions, which have become available to companies, governments, and researcher. A growing number of researchers in social science and management fields acquire and analyze BBD for the purpose of extracting knowledge and scientific discoveries. However, the relationships between the researcher, data, subjects, and research questions differ in the BBD context compared to traditional behavioral data. Behavioral researchers using BBD face not only methodological and technical challenges but also ethical and moral dilemmas. In this paper we discuss several dilemmas, challenges and trade-offs related to acquiring and analyzing BBD for causal behavioral research.

Keywords: Data Mining, Ethics, Big Data, Data Analysis

Suggested Citation

Shmueli, Galit, Beauty Is in the Eye of the (Data) Beholder: Behavioral Researchers' Dilemmas Using Behavioral Big Data (May 14, 2017). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2840563 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2840563

Galit Shmueli (Contact Author)

Institute of Service Science, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan ( email )

Hsinchu, 30013
Taiwan

HOME PAGE: http://www.iss.nthu.edu.tw

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