Small data

Introduction

The term small data did not exist before the word big data which came into use in the 1990's. What we once called data is now called small data. Small data was not made useless by the advent of big data. Most data we see in our life is small data, and it should not be overlooked in any field.

This article helps to define small data and to give examples in marketing and recruiting to help in understanding.

Definition

Small data (sm’aē’āll DH(ə)ta) is data that is 'small' enough for human comprehension.^[1][2] It is data in a volume and format that makes it accessible, informative and actionable.^[3]

The term "big data" is about machines and "small data" is about people.^[4] This is to say that eye witness observations or five pieces of related data could be small data. Small data is what we used to think of as data. The only way to comprehend Big data is to reduce the data into small, visually-appealing objects representing various aspects of large data sets (such as histogram, charts, and scatter plots). So sometimes big data is simplified to be like small data.

A formal definition of small data has been proposed by Allen Bonde, VP of Innovation at Actuate: "Small data connects people with timely, meaningful insights (derived from big data and/or “local” sources), organized and packaged – often visually – to be accessible, understandable, and actionable for everyday tasks."^[5]

Another definition of small data is:

• The small set of specific attributes produced by the Internet of Things. These are typically a small set of sensor data such as temperature, wind speed, vibration and status.^[6]

Some Examples of Uses in Business

Marketing

Bonde has written extensively about the topic for Forbes,^[7] Direct Marketing News,^[8] CMO.com^[9] and other publications.

According to Martin Lindstrom, in his book, Small Data: "{In customer research, small data is} Seemingly insignificant behavioral observations containing very specific attributes pointing towards an unmet customer need. Small data is the foundation for break through ideas or completely new ways to turnaround brands."^[10]

Conclusion

Small Data is what we used to call data. The hype about Big Data should not cause us to look down on Small Data. Small Data's practicality and depth of insight is often better than big data.

References