Fire Alarms Systems

Jonathan Gray

argued that the data aspiring journalists and hackers civic data should try to cut data-driven hype and to cultivate a critical its literary theme

. Another perspective: Data journalism is the new punk Simon Rogers

• In the early days of photography there was great optimism about its potential to provide the public with accurate and objective picture of the world. In the pioneering photographers of the 19th century (later called to be the photographers) were announced by new documentary representations of war scenes in Mexico, the Crimea and in the United States. More than a century and a half later - after decades of publicity, advertising and public relations, composition, improved handling and straightforward - they are more cautious about seeing the photographs as representations of reality impartial. Photography has lost its privileged position in relation to the truth. The images are only part of the universe of evidence must be weighed, analyze and critically evaluate the journalist, analyst, researcher, critic, and reader.
  The current wave of enthusiasm for data, information technology and all things on the basis of data could lead to suspect that the machine-readable, structured material is a special case. The spirit of the times, sometimes mysteriously bears a resemblance to the optimism of a loose-knit group of scientists, social scientists and philosophers in the early 20th century, who thought they could refrain from value judgments stories to a target model based on the facts of the world. "Facts are sacred," says the Guardian and Datablog "for a world view based on real events," says Gapminder. The idea of ??linking our reports, analysis and reflection for the pieces of truth given by the data is certainly comforting. But the idea that the data gives us special access directly to the way things are is - mostly -. Chimera

• data can be a powerful asset, if used the right way. But as users and supporters of this material powerful and intoxicating that we must strive to maintain our expects that proportion to the opportunity it presents. We must strive to cultivate a critical literacy regarding our subject. Although we can not wait to acquire the knowledge or the fluidity of an experienced statistician and veteran investigative journalist for the night, we can at least try to keep several myths about the database of the door. To that end, here are some reminders for fans of the data:

• data is not a force in itself
• . The data clearly did not literally create value or change the world for himself. We are talking about changing the world metonymically data - more or less the same way as we talk about changing the world press. Databases are not knocking on doors, making phone calls, driving institutional reform, the creation of new services for citizens, or to educate the masses about the workings of the labyrinthine bureaucracy that surround us. The data value can potentially offer society must be done by humans who use the data to do useful things. The value of these things is the result of work of the spirit, skill, and (perhaps especially) with the problems of human beings, not something that is automatically deducted from the mere presence and availability of databases on the Internet in a form which allows reuse.

data is not a perfect reflection of the world

. Public databases (as expected) does not give perfect information about the world. Representations of the world gathered, generated, selected, sorted and filtered, collected, analyzed and corrected for specific purposes - for purposes as diverse as the public sector accounting, traffic control, weather forecasting, urban planning and assessment policies. The data are often incomplete, imperfect, inaccurate or outdated. It's more like a shadow on the wall, created by fallible human beings, refracted through layers of bureaucracy and formal process. Despite this bias and imperfection, the data generated by government agencies may be the best source of information we have about a particular subject and may be supplemented by other data sources, documents and outside experts. Instead of taking them at face value or as a gospel, data sets can often be a guide springboard, a starting point or a complementary source to understand a subject.

The data speaks for itself . Sometimes the elements of a database is maintained by themselves, and do not require context or additional documents to help us interpret - for example, when we consulted the transportation schedules for when the train leaves at nearby. But often the data needs more research and analysis to make sense. In many ways resemble the official data sets official texts: we must learn to read and interpret critically, to read between the lines, to see what is absent or fails to understand the seriousness and consequences of figures different, and so on. We must not imagine that anyone can easily understand a data set, more than you might think that anyone can read any policy document or an academic article.