🎯 Learning Objectives
- Define the terms big data and data science
- Investigate the stakeholders who use big data and why
- Explain how data is collected on and how it is used
- Discuss the ethics of big data use
💬 Key Vocabulary
- big data
- ethics
- stakeholders
- data
- data science
- machine learning
📝 Starter Activity
With the person next to you, write down in a blank Word document:
What types of data do you think companies collect on you from your online activities?
e.g. Your name, location etc
📖 What is Big Data?
Big data is defined as:
‘Large data sets which are analysed in order to identify patterns and trends, often used by organisations to better understand their customers’
Big data is characterised by the three Vs:
- Volume: the amount of data in the data set
- Variety: the different types of data in the data set
- Velocity: the speed at which the data set is produced and how long it remains accurate
📖 What is big data used for?
Improve and streamline services
Companies can analyse customer reviews and behaviour to determine what parts of their service are liked and what needs to change. They can also work out when customers are mostly likely to use their service, to ensure they can meet demand.
Target advertisements towards customers
Companies can analyse the buying behaviour of their customers and then advertise similar products, to improve their adverts’ effectiveness.
Optimise project management
When planning a project, companies need to determine how long it will take and how much it will cost. They can use big data to reduce both of these by working out the quickest and cheapest way of carrying out their project.
Identify criminal activity
Big data sets that show customer behaviour can reveal peculiar activity, such as purchases of an unexpected item, or card use in a different country. This can be used to help identify fraudulent activity.
Predict voter behaviour
Big data sets can also be used to predict what people will do next. Data sets can be created that show how users have behaved in the past or how the people around them have behaved, and can then be used to guess what will happen next.
Can you think of organisations that might use big data in these ways?
🥇 Level 1 – Data analytics
Big data sets are analysed using data analytics. These are the techniques used to combine different types of data and extract meaning from them.
This might involve searching for common patterns in a data set, or trying to characterise the behaviour or certain types of data subject.
Data analytics might involve:
- Machine learning
- Text analysis
- Predictive analysis
- Optimisation problems
- Cleaning and combining data sets
Examine the data sets in the Level 1 worksheet. What useful information could you learn from them, if you were:
- StreamNow?
- BuyOnline?
📝 Is big data ethical?
Discuss with your partner the examples of data sets you have just analysed and decide whether you think it is OK for data to be used in this way.
- Which of the data sets would you be happy for your data to be included in?
- Are you comfortable with the way the data was used?
- What rules do you think there should be to regulate how data is analysed?
🥈 Level 2 – Is big data is unethical?
As we have discussed there are some issues with gathering so much data about people, but it also has lots of advantages.
Download the Level 2 worksheet to get your views written down and make an argument one way or the other.
🥉 Level 3 – Real life examples
How is big data used? Through independent research, find:
- One example of big data being used ethically
- One example of big data being used unethically
In which cases do you think big data is ethical?
In a new blank Word document write at least 200 words in answer to this question.
Make sure to provide at least two real-world examples to back up your argument.
🏅 Level Up
🥇 Level 1
- Upload your completed Level 1 – Data Analytics worksheet to the Teams assignment.
🥈 Level 2
- Upload your completed Level 2 – Is big data is unethical? worksheet to the Teams assignment.
🥉 Level 3
- Upload your 200 words of written work including two examples of big data being used in real life to the Teams assignment.
In this lesson, you…
- Learnt about big data and discussed the ethics of using it
Next lesson, you will…
- Learn about data misuse and the phenomenon of fake news.