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  • Chapter 3 - Data as a Contingent Performance and the Limitations of Big Data

  • from Part I - Philosophical, Epistemological and Theoretical Considerations
  • Edited by Boyka Simeonova, University of Leicester, Robert D. Galliers, Bentley University, Massachusetts and Warwick Business School
  • Book:
    Cambridge Handbook of Qualitative Digital Research
    Published online:
    08 June 2023
    Print publication:
    22 June 2023, pp 28-42

  • Summary

    The proliferation of digital data has been presented as heralding a revolution in research methods for the study of social phenomena, such as IS. For some authors, this revolution involves the abandonment of the traditional scientific method in favour of purely inductive data-driven research. Others proclaim the emergence of a new, quantitative, computational social science that will displace qualitative methods, while others see digital data as potentially enriching qualitative research. All these claims, however, take the nature of data for granted, assuming that they straightforwardly instrument reality and that understanding of the world can therefore be gained through their analysis alone. This chapter presents a critical analysis of this ‘pre-factual’ view, arguing that data are not natural givens, but are performed, brought into being by situated practices that enact particular representations of the world. The implications of such a conceptualization of data for research methods in Information Systems and organizational research are discussed.