What Is Big Data, How Is It Gathered, and for What

question 60

Essay

What is big data, how is it gathered, and for what purposes? Discuss an example of how social researchers have used big data.

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Definitions:

January 1, 1863

The date when the Emancipation Proclamation was officially issued by President Abraham Lincoln, declaring the freedom of all slaves in Confederate territory.

Special Order No. 15

A military order issued during the American Civil War that confiscated as Union property a strip of coastline stretching from Charleston, South Carolina, to the St. John's River in Florida, and redistributed it to freed African American families in forty-acre parcels.

South Carolina Sea Islands

Islands along the coast of South Carolina, known for their unique Gullah culture and history.

Black Families

Units of social and kinship relationships among people of African descent, characterized by various structures and practices.