The Global Standardization of Data
Channel: Salvatore Babones
Date: 16/08/2017

The data included in the international data infrastructure is becoming increasingly standardized, routinized, and accessible.

On balance that is a good development, but it does result in the problem that people (even researchers) tend to ignore concepts that are not captured in these standard datasets.

It can also be easy to forget that data must be manipulated (that is, handled or packaged) before they can be used effectively.

Most of the time, the data do NOT speak for themselves!