The concept of utilizing big data to enable scientific discovery has generated tremendous excitement and investment from both private and public sectors over the past decade, and expectations continue to grow. Using big data analytics to identify complex patterns hidden inside volumes of data that have never been combined could accelerate the rate of scientific discovery and lead to the development of beneficial technologies and products. However, producing actionable scientific knowledge from such large, complex data sets requires statistical models that produce reliable inferences (NRC, 2013). Without careful consideration of the suitability of both available data and the statistical models applied, analysis of big data may result in misleading correlations and false discoveries, which can potentially undermine confidence in scientific research if the results are not reproducible. In June 2016 the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a workshop to examine critical challenges and opportunities in performing scientific inference reliably when working with big data. Participants explored new methodologic developments that hold significant promise and potential research program areas for the future. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Refining the Concept of Scientific Inference When Working with Big Data: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
Sign in to access your saved publications, downloads, and email
preferences.
Former MyNAP users: You'll need to reset your password on your first
login to MyAcademies. Click "Forgot password" below to receive a reset
link via email. Having trouble?
Visit our FAQ page
to contact support.
Members of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of
Engineering, or National Academy of Medicine should log in through their
respective Academy portals.
Register
Register
Download as a Guest
Download as a Guest
While logged on as a guest, you can download any of our free PDFs on
nationalacademies.org
. You will remain logged in until you close your browser.
Thank You
Thank You
Thank you for creating a MyAcademies account!
Enjoy free access to thousands of National Academies' publications, a
10% discount off every purchase, and build your personal library.
Forgot Password
Forgot Password
Enter the email address for your MyAcademies (formerly MyNAP) account to
receive password reset instructions.
Reset Requested
Reset Requested
We sent password reset instructions to
your email
. Follow the link in that email to create a new password. Didn't receive
it? Check your spam folder or
contact us
for assistance.
We sent a verification link to your email. Please check your inbox (and
spam folder) and follow the link to verify your email address. If you
did not receive the email, you can request a new verification link below