Tackling the terabyte: how should research adapt to the era of big data?
Channel: SpotOnLondonPolicy
Date: 2012-11-11

It's getting easier and easier to collect gigabytes of data, but most of us lack the skills to use it. Computer models also produce very complex theoretical predictions, and it's only getting worse as the models become more sophisticated. How do you compare the outcome of a complex model with complex data? This represents a fundamental change in how experimental science is done, but is the research community prepared for this change? How should we start to tackle this problem? Should researchers have to have training in the statistics of large data sets? Should universities have data specialists? And who would pay for them? Aren't we all busy enough already? The panelists lay out some of these issues and some possible solutions, and then the audience joins in the debate.