[AISWorld] Data Sets

[Robert Willis]

I didn't get a huge response to my question - thanx to those who did respond, though! - but the gist of the response I did receive seems to be our standard answer to most things: "it depends". : - )

Two responses that struck a chord came from Dennis Jones and John Sullivan: again, thanx for these.

The main points seem to be that data shelf life is contextual and generallly will have more to do with the issue than with methodology or method. For example, "data collected a few years ago (regardless of method), related to user acceptance of touch screen technology may no longer be relevant while data collected concerning user interface design might remain relevant (Dennis)."  On the other hand, as John pointed out, " [Much of the collected data may relate] to timeless phenomena (i.e. accountability, leadership, risk management, organizational learning, reliability culture).  While I conducted the interviews in 2002, many of the experiences they reported go back to the 1950s.  The findings are still relevant today.  One might speculate that it could have been the subject matter rather than the type of data set that made it so."

So there you are ... wherever that may be : - )

Bob Willis