by Melanie Feinberg
MIT PRESS, 2022, 336 PP. PAPERBACK, $35.00 ISBN: 978-0-262-54440-5
We hear the word “data” on a daily basis, perhaps in terms of big data, open data, raw data, data management plans, data points, data analyses, data visualization, or data-driven decision making. There are data related to patient care, consumer behavior, public health, socioeconomics, grant-funded research, journalism, gun violence, library usage, and more—the list goes on. It can easily be overwhelming. Data are everywhere, whether we like it or not. Thankfully, Melanie Feinberg has brought data down to earth in an everyday and amusing way.
Everyday Adventures with Unruly Data is an incredibly enjoyable book. Each chapter has two parts: an everyday encounter with data and a reflection of that encounter that includes references to published literature, theories, philosophies, and approaches. Even more fun: you can jump around throughout the book. The chapters do not have to be read in numerical order; you do not even have to read both bits of the chapter. This book is a surprisingly engaging way to learn about data, yes, and to look at everyday experiences in a new way.
The table of contents alone is great. Each of the seven chapters has a theme: serendipity, objectivity, equivalence, interoperability, taxonomy, labels, locality. And within each chapter there is an adventure: “A trip to the library”; “That scale must be wrong!”; “When is butter?”; “I can’t cook rice in Copenhagen”; “Not that hierarchy”; “A mistake on my Mastercard”; and “Have you ever been to Louisiana?” The adventures are the author’s experiences with data. They range from personal examples involving family interactions or a credit card to some involving professional settings or conversations with librarians.
Next come the reflections: How do we attend to data in the everyday? How is the quantitative not? Is this thing the same as that one? How does the same process lead to different outcomes? How does classificatory structure matter? What’s in a name? How are data situated? For those who prefer citations and theory interspersed, this aspect of each chapter relates the adventure shared to other fields, ranging from communications to information science, psychology, and more.
Initially, I thought the table of contents was unnecessarily detailed, but as I read through the book—or jumped around, actually—I realized that it was a perfect structure for allowing and empowering readers to explore the topics and scenarios—the everyday adventures—that are most interesting to them. Often, data can be boring. But with the relatable daily adventures—paired with Feinberg’s comfortable and often funny writing style—data are approachable, relatable, and dare I say fun. [End Page 203]
Reading this book has infused a new energy in my day. Reading it on the train during the morning commute had me analyzing signs posted in the train cars and the various walking routes from the train stop to my office. I have at times reached for the book to read Feinberg’s reflections when I return from my own local supermarket or when I want to learn more about a theory or classification that she referenced.
This book is for anyone and everyone—the student, the novice professional, the seasoned faculty member, the academic, the curious layperson. It’s enjoyable enough to be a book club read, and it’s informative enough to be a required class read. Thank you, Melanie Feinberg, for reminding us of the meaning and impact of data in a world already overrun with data and for making data fun. [End Page 204]
—Hannah Rutledge, University of Pennsylvania