There is huge amount of data around us and it keeps growing each nano-second. There is a digital trail of each online activity. That adds to this pool. At the same time, powerful tools employing complex algorithms are used to plough through this data. It would not have been possible to do so through traditional research methods. The mining of this data is called Big Data. It includes searching, capturing, storing, analysing and eventually sharing relevant information with target audience.

Big Data drives the business decisions and may eventually shape the way the world functions. Big Data alters the way we process and perceive things. Big Data sample size is large and diverse. It cannot give the ‘margin of error’ which traditional surveys give with their limited sample size.

However, such exactness is not necessary. Insights obtained through Big Data could be far more useful. What are to be emphasised are the correlations rather than causality. However, there should not be over-reliance on Big Data, especially while looking at sensitive issues such as crime. it is also not necessary to follow blindly what Big Data throws up. India’s Aadhar card project is a Big Data project. It links an identification number to the demographic and biometric information.