ABSTRACT

This paper dwells on the metaphor of shadow organising for exploring what happens in the space of the ‘not-yet data’. It wonders what we do to ‘data’ and what ‘data’ do to us, to our subjectivities as professionals. It deals with elusive knowledges and how professionals construct what counts as ‘data’ and what is discarded as ‘no-data’. Taking a post-qualitative approach, the paper illustrates three instances of not-yet data. The first exemplifies a situation in which data are illegible: the researcher doesn’t know how to read the situation, or the data are invisible. The second focuses on the process of actively ignoring what is known, what is not-yet manufactured as data. The third relates to the agency of the technological infrastructure in which the indeterminacy of the not-yet data is shaped by power dynamics. The aim of the paper is to invite researchers and professionals to stay with the trouble/indeterminacy of data and to ‘slow down’ the quick framing of ‘data’ and the jump to evaluation and critique. Moreover, it argues against the seduction of evidence and it is an invitation to value the idea that things may always be otherwise and that there is space for shadow learning.

摘要

本文详述影子组织的隐喻探索“尚未数据”空间中发生的事情。它想知道我们对“数据”做了什么，以及“数据”对我们、我们作为专业人士的主观性做了什么。它涉及难以捉摸的知识以及专业人士如何构建算作“数据”的内容以及丢弃为“无数据”的内容。本文采用后定性方法，举例说明了三个尚未得到数据的实例。第一个举例说明了数据难以辨认的情况：研究人员不知道如何阅读情况，或者数据是不可见的。第二个侧重于主动忽略已知和尚未制造为数据的过程。第三个与技术基础设施的代理有关，其中未确定数据的不确定性是由权力动态塑造的。这篇论文的目的是邀请研究人员和专业人士解决数据的麻烦/不确定性，并“放慢”“数据”的快速框架以及评估和批评的速度。此外，它反对证据的诱惑，并邀请人们重视事物可能总是不同的想法，并且存在影子学习的空间。