What does data innovation mean for traditional social science research?

Pulse Lab Jakarta posted today on Medium a blog I have written with Andrew Thornley about the implication for social science research of data innovation. Hope you enjoy reading it.

Data innovation and data analytics offer an unprecedented opportunity for expanding the sources of evidence that can inform policy-making. But is data innovation threatening traditional policy research? Arnaldo Pellini is a Research Fellow at the Overseas Development Institute and the lead for learning at the Knowledge Sector Initiative, and Andrew Thornley is an Asia Foundation alum; both have a wealth of experience across Southeast Asia. They raise some important questions as they look at experiences in Indonesia.

In the last five years, data innovation has changed the research and policy landscape. Policy-makers used to rely on more traditional forms of evidence, such as social science research, to make decisions. But new technologies and alliances for collecting, publishing and analysing data are changing the way policy-makers source and use evidence. We need to understand more about how data is being used in policy and what this means for social science researchers trying to inform policy decisions. Ultimately, social science research must adapt.

Continue reading on Medium – Pulse Lab Jakarta