Question: 3.How is useful scientific information obtained from large data sets? What are the challenges if there are any?

Amal Lavender answered on 17 Feb 2021:

Hi @gail – Large data sets are excellent at driving meaningful conclusions with a high level of confidence. Large data sets from multiple sites also can help prove reproducibility on different instruments or locations which can be a great benefit for example in hospitals or common instruments for diagnosis. Large data sets for things like drug development or medical devices also enables confidence to attract investors or get through the difficult regulatory requirements.

Challenges include ensuring getting the metadata set correct and consistent– you can collect so many different parameters but then what will you do with that data – so key is obtaining the right data and then getting a sample set large enough to be meaningful and to understand the error or % accuracy of the results. Another challenge is also managing all the data and or storing it – it can cost a lot of money to store massive data sets. hope that helps?