Critical Data Studies: An A to Z Guide to Concepts and Methods

by Rob Kitchin

Critical Data Studies has come of age as a vibrant, interdisciplinary field of study. Taking data as its primary analytical focus, the field theorises the nature of data; examines how data are produced, managed, governed and shared; investigates how they are used to make sense of the world and to perform practical action; and explores whose agenda data-driven systems serve.

This book is the first comprehensive A-Z guide to the concepts and methods of Critical Data Studies, providing succinct definitions and descriptions of over 400 key terms, along with suggested further reading. The book enables readers to quickly navigate and improve their comprehension of the field, while also acting as a guide for discovering ideas and methods that will be of value in their own studies.
 
Critical Data Studies is essential reading for students and scholars from across the sciences, social sciences and humanities, as well as those who work with data professionally who want to extend and enrich their conceptual and practical understanding of data and their use.


This will be available as an Open Access book.

272 pages, Hardcover

Published February 18, 2025

About the author

I'm a professor at the National University of Ireland Maynooth and the author or editor of 28 academic books and a 12 volume encyclopedia, and author of four crime novels and two collections of short stories. My passions are reading and writing crime fiction and undertaking research on social issues. I contribute to three blogs: The View From the Blue House, Ireland After NAMA, and The Programmable City.

Reviews

[Amira · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I found my new favorite theoretical framework. (Bonus for the « how to use this book » part and the vision behind it).