Big Data: Social Processes and Ethical Issues

Autumn 2024, Full-time, Norrköping

Semester Autumn 2024
Place of study Norrköping
Pace of study Full-time
Level Second cycle
Teaching form On-Campus
Education Time Day-time
Education Language English
Course offering id LIU-46016
Period 202449 - 202503
Number of Places 7

Specific requirements

  • 180 ECTS credits passed including 90 ECTS credits within one of the following areas humanities, social-, cultural-, behavioural-, natural-, computer-, or engineering-sciences
  • English corresponding to the level of English in Swedish upper secondary education (Engelska 6)
    Exemption from Swedish

Selection

Tuition fees

SEK 11100 - NB: Applies only to students from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland.

If you have questions about the course, contact us

Cory Robinson, course director

Madelene Töpfer, course administrator

Jonas Johansson, study adviser

Course syllabus

Big Data: Social Processes and Ethical Issues

Autumn 2025, Full-time, Norrköping

Semester Autumn 2025
Place of study Norrköping
Pace of study Full-time
Level Second cycle
Teaching form On-Campus
Education Time Day-time
Education Language English
Course offering id LIU-46016
Period 202549 - 202603
Number of Places 7

Specific requirements

  • 180 ECTS credits passed including 90 ECTS credits within one of the following areas humanities, social-, cultural-, behavioural-, natural-, computer-, or engineering-sciences
  • English corresponding to the level of English in Swedish upper secondary education (Engelska 6)
    Exemption from Swedish

Selection

Tuition fees

SEK 11100 - NB: Applies only to students from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland.

If you have questions about the course, contact us

Cory Robinson, course director

Madelene Töpfer, course administrator

Jonas Johansson, study adviser

Course syllabus

The course is about ethical issues related to the use of big data. It also considers social processes involving diverse actors who interact with digital platforms, produce and store big data, and analyse those data. Issues related to individual privacy, anonymity, and confidentiality are discussed. Unique ethical concerns that arise from the production of big data are scrutinized, including representativeness, sample selection, non-human and bad faith actors, and the reproduction of social biases through AI and machine learning. Social research and organizational decision-making processes that rely on big data are critiqued on this basis. The course also investigates the motivations, of organizations collecting and making use of big data directly or indirectly for profit and decision-making. These issues are explored through contemporary case studies.