Methods Big Data Research Big data has become a paradigm for a supposed new type of data and a form of knowledge discovery. 1 The hyperbole, if not necessarily the actuality, that surrounds big data now has an impact on nearly all aspects of our social life and increasingly has altered the way researchers and practitioners work with digital information. the language of big data dichotomizes our work as new versus old and big versus small. It affects the primary subjects of our inquiry, furthering the roles of people as sensors, communication as content, and living as behavior. he impacts are numerous, for example, with lucrative markets for data brokerage that supply the demand for a “data-now” business environment. 2 Governments, from the municipal to national levels, are transitioning from old to new ways of administering public services and resources via, for example, data analytics. 3 Skepticism accompanies public and private sector initiatives as big data passes “the top of ...