Big Data: Promise and Challenges

Big Data operationalizes vast amounts of information in ways never before possible, but it also has limitations — and this is the subject data scientist Tricia Wang explores in an insightful Ted talk. She argues that complex systems, especially those which involve human beings, operate in unpredictable ways. For this reason, the best research combines qualitative and quantitative analysis. Quantitative analysis informs powerful decision-making models, but when you combine it with qualitative analysis, you get depth, context and richer, more actionable analysis.