How Can Big Data Be Used in Social Research?

BIG DATA: HOW CAN BIG DATA BE USED IN SOCIAL RESEARCH?
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Big Data: How Can Big Data Be Used in Social Research?
1 Introduction
As big data continues to descend on different sectors, ranging from e-commerce to the health industry and governments to non-governmental organizations, information system designers and analysts are facing an array of opportunities that come with the technology as well as challenges (Tian and Liu, 2017). Howe and Elenberg (2020) have defined big data as humongous amounts of data sets that can only be analyzed using sophisticated computing techniques to reveal patterns, associations, and trends. Josh and Ralph (2015) have noted that while the emergence of big data has served as a potential boon for social research, this new area of research also introduces distinct epistemological encounters that sociologists have sought to resolve. Tian and Liu (2017) have particularly identified challenges among information system designers in developing a holistic approach for big data research that the modern analytics savvy generation can adopt. By utilizing evidence-based literature on the existing and emerging applications, Tian and Liu (2017) have assessed the significance of big data analytics in leveraging opportunities from domain-specific analytics and the abundance of data in diverse critical scopes. In practice, peer-to-peer and leader-based social information channels have traditionally influenced consumer buying decisions on common social e-commerce websites. However, combing theoretical models and big data analytics has empirically been shown to produce more effective and robust consumer buying decisions, thus serving as complements (Tian and Liu, 2017). Josh and Ralph (2015) have focused on the use of inductive approaches, the questions on causal versus correlational research, and the application of theoretical frameworks in the age of big data. Drawing from Tian and Liu’s study, this paper explores how big data, one of the powerful tools in the modern analytics age, can be applied in social research while complementing it with the existing theoretical models.
2.0 Methods, Data, and Findings
Tian and Liu (2017) have delved into the question of the superiority of big data and arrived at the conclusion that for social research to be meaningful in producing more effective and sound outcomes, it requires an investigator to combine it with existing theoretical frameworks. This similar problem has been dealt with by Halford and Savage (2017), who have opined that numbers do not speak for themselves but will demand theoretical backing for sociological research to become expressive (p. 1142). In their study, Tian and Liu (2017) have employed BigML in assessing the interaction of leader-based and friend-based social information channels in influencing consumer buying behaviors and outcomes on social e-commerce websites. The authors integrate sociological theoretical models and big data analytics through an empirical study to demonstrate if the two can be merged to produce better results to inform consumer buying decisions. The researchers used...