TY  - JOUR
AB  - Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to identify and describe the most prominent research areas connected with “Big Data” and propose a thorough definition of the term. Design/methodology/approach– The authors have analysed a conspicuous corpus of industry and academia articles linked with Big Data to find commonalities among the topics they treated. The authors have also compiled a survey of existing definitions with a view of generating a more solid one that encompasses most of the work happening in the field. Findings– The main themes of Big Data are: information, technology, methods and impact. The authors propose a new definition for the term that reads as follows: “Big Data is the Information asset characterized by such a High Volume, Velocity and Variety to require specific Technology and Analytical Methods for its transformation into Value.” Practical implications– The formal definition that is proposed can enable a more coherent development of the concept of Big Data, as it solely relies on the essential strands of current state-of-the-art and is coherent with the most popular definitions currently used. Originality/value– This is among the first structured attempts of building a convincing definition of Big Data. It also contains an original exploration of the topic in connection with library management.
VL  - 65
IS  - 3
SN  - 0024-2535
DO  - 10.1108/LR-06-2015-0061
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/LR-06-2015-0061
AU  - De Mauro Andrea
AU  - Greco Marco
AU  - Grimaldi Michele
PY  - 2016
Y1  - 2016/01/01
TI  - A formal definition of Big Data based on its essential features
T2  - Library Review
PB  - Emerald Group Publishing Limited
SP  - 122
EP  - 135
Y2  - 2024/04/20
ER  -