Data Revolutions in Sociology

Following the French Revolution, society becomes the leading dimension of existence, more prominent than the state and government. According to the “hygienic party”, who promoted health and education, statistics can contribute to an understanding not only of the main causes of disease and death, but also of crime and unrest; scientific ground can be provided for social policy. All kinds of social phenomena are classified, measured, and made public, and large-scale statistical recurrences are identified. In the “avalanche of numbers” published, the first sociologists recognized mass regularities in order to identify laws of human behaviour. Nowadays, the availability of Big Data paves the way to new epistemological challenges. Will the new data revolution lead to a new paradigm in Sociology?