“Putting It Together, That’s What Counts”: Data Foam, a Snowball and Researcher Evaluation

Abstract

Open data, institutional data personal data and social data can be gathered by a data broker, deemed to be adding value by creating unprecedented combinations. Some or all of the original data may not belong to the broker, but their control of data flows and ability to combine different sources takes the existing data points into something new that can be sold and resold. This new object may be seen as beneficial, where the data donor and/or society receives something in return, or what I call `data foam', where the new product or service has little or no benefit to anyone other than the seller. This chapter explains the concept of data foam, using the specific example of the increasing use of metrics in researcher evaluation.