the greek research infrastructure
for social sciences
The past few years, new types of data have emerged with the help of technology, constantly posing challenges for social scientists. The ever-increasing digitization of a wide range of social activities produces data on a continuous and regular basis, fueling a strong reflection on the functioning of modern societies as well as the conditions of production of the knowledge that concerns them. Therefore, an important part of the bibliography of the social sciences concerning big data explores and focuses on two main conflicting approaches. The classical approach of the social scientists emphasizes the separation from the strict causal analysis that characterized the collection and use of classical research data, while the other approach treats them as a very promising field of analysis. At the same time, the research horizons of the social sciences are expanding with the ever-increasing mass production of data either from social media or from the field of health and administration. Research infrastructures are called upon to discuss and collaborate in the emerging new data landscape in terms of volume, diversity, data types as they are shaped in the European and international scene. For the most part, they are called upon to formulate processes, to expand the range of collaborations so that they continue to be a suitable and certified space for hospitality, documentation, synergies of the research process of the social sciences. In the context of our work, we will focus on the role that Research infrastructures can play in documenting and using / reusing new types of data, choosing analytical practices through specific applications and repositories.
