NEWS10 October 2012

Big data needs research to answer ‘why', says Dunnhumby founder

People UK

UK— The coming big data revolution will not do away with the need for research, according to Clive Humby, founder of the data analytics firm Dunnhumby.

Humby, a newly named patron of the Market Research Society, said that the analysis of very large data sets should be complementary to research.

“Data is about ‘how many’ and ‘how much’, whereas research is about ‘why’ – you have to join it all up,” he said.

“There is going to be a revolution in big data as a whole host of data sources come on stream, but none of it answers the question ‘why’.”

Humby was speaking at the launch last night of ‘The Business of Evidence’ report, produced by PricewaterhouseCoopers on behalf of the Market Research Society.

The report estimates that research contributes up to £3bn to the UK economy.

Brian Tarran

People UK

@RESEARCH LIVE

1 Comment

Chris Robinson

13 years ago

Clive Humby has hit the nail on the head. I am amazed at the hubris in the industry about the game changers in market research as a result of social media and big data. Many accolytes predict the end of market research as we know it. Anyone who has dealt with data big or small knows the missing and most critical piece of information is always "why?" and that is why traditional research will always have a place in managment information requirements.

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