Deborah Lupton: Liquid metaphors for Big Data seek to familiarise technology.

Continuing our series on big data and its implications for research, Mark Carrigan talks to Deborah Lupton about how sociologists are involved in making sense of and positioning big data. The popularity of the topic provides a great chance for critical reflection on the creation and authority of big data. Also of interest to social researchers are the nature metaphors used to discuss data, such as ‘flows’ and ‘flood’, and the growth of opportunities to explore how small data juxtapose against big data.