How Not to Abuse Metadata (White-Collar Migrant Worker #3)
No one need fear metadata or metadata analysis as long as it's summary-level data being shared. Unintentionally or deliberately using short-term trends or individual cases to generalize about the long term is a common pitfall.
Thoughtful examples in the book include analyses of world population growth and climate change. The intent is not to advance any conclusions but to examine carefully the methods used to generate charts and interpretations of the underlying metadata. Other examples include analyzing stock market trends and preventing misuse of Electronic Health Records (EHR).
The term Big Data encompasses the technology used to develop and provide metadata, including not only large-scale database systems but also middleware to integrate results from those heterogenous systems. Vendors that provide Big Data solutions have responsibilities to ensure compliance with government regulations and industry best practices about how metadata is extracted and presented.
