Image

Marta Selmaszak Rosa, assistant professor of information systems in UMass Amherst’s Isenberg School of Management, has co-edited the new “Research Handbook on Digital Data: Interdisciplinary Perspectives,” published by Edward Elgar Publishing.

The book explores the function and impact of digital data on various spheres of organizational and social life by examining essential research across disciplines, including management, sociology, and economics, and establishing a foundational understanding of the increasing importance of digital data in contemporary society.

Digital data underpin everything from artificial intelligence and digital platforms to financial systems, healthcare and government decision-making. Researchers who study data in areas such as sociology, computer science, public policy, and management are all asking important questions, but they often do so separately, Selmaszak Rosa says.

“There is surprisingly little dialogue across those fields,” she says. The need for a more integrated approach led her to work with Aleksi Aaltonen of the Stevens Institute of Technology and Kalle Lyytinen of Case Western Reserve University to develop the new book. “We felt there was a real opportunity to bring these perspectives together and create a space for interdisciplinary conversation and synthesis.”

Image

In the new book, 53 researchers contributed to 24 chapters on the foundation, design, practice, governance and uses of digital data. The authors’ perspectives came from their own work in a range of disciplines across the social sciences, including information systems, management, organization studies, science and technology studies, sociology, economics, and urban geography.

“Each of these fields approaches digital data from a different angle,” Stelmaszak Rosa said, “whether focusing on technological infrastructures, organizational practices, governance, or societal consequences.”

By situating its chapters within the layers of a digital data stack, the book offers a variety of diverse perspectives and approaches, but it also provides a structure for cumulative insight. Leading scholars analyse and interpret the creation, governance, and utilization of data, covering key topics such as machine learning, data heterogeneity, temporal fragilities in data sharing, and blockchain finance. Ultimately, this Research Handbook highlights how the kaleidoscopic nature of digital data gives rise to multiple competing realities, making it a reference point for future scholarship.

An online book launch featuring Selmaszak Rosa, her co-editors and contributors is planned for April 1 at 10 a.m., via Zoom. To register for the launch event, complete the form found here.

More details about the book and the impetus that led Selmaszak Rosa to develop the book can be found in this feature article on the Isenberg website. The “Research Handbook on Digital Data: Interdisciplinary Perspectives,” is currently available for pre-order on the Edward Elgar Publishing website.