Abstract In common with much contemporary discourse around big data, recent discussion of datafication in the Journal of Strategic Information Systems has focused on its effects on individuals, organisations and society. Generally missing from such analysis, however, is any consideration of data themselves. What is it that is having these effects? In this Viewpoint article I therefore present a critical analysis of a number of widely-held assumptions about data in general and big data in particular. Rather than being a referential, natural, foundational, objective and equal representation of the world, it will be argued, data are partial and contingent and are brought into being through situated practices of conceptualization, recording and use. Big data are also not as revolutionary voluminous, universal or exhaustive as they are often presented. Some initial implications of this reconceptualization of data are explored. A distinction is made between “data in principle” as they are recorded, and the “data in practice” as they are used. It is only the latter, typically a small and not necessarily representative subset of the former, that will contribute directly to the effects of datafication.

中文翻译：

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当谈论（大）数据时我们谈论什么

摘要与关于大数据的当代讨论一样，最近在《战略信息系统杂志》上对数据化的讨论集中在其对个人，组织和社会的影响上。但是，此类分析通常缺少对数据本身的任何考虑。这些影响是什么？因此，在这篇观点文章中，我将对许多关于通用数据特别是大数据的广泛假设进行批判性分析。人们会争辩说，数据不是世界的参照，自然，基础，客观和平等的代表，它是局部的和偶然的，是通过概念化，记录和使用的实际做法形成的。大数据也不像通常提供的那样具有革命性的庞大，通用或详尽的信息。探索了这种数据重新概念化的一些初步含义。记录的“原则上的数据”与使用的“实践中的数据”之间有区别。只是后者，通常是前者的一小部分，不一定是代表性的子集，将直接对数据化产生影响。