Table 1.
The Vs of big data.
Volume | High-throughput technologies for gathering data and/or continuous gathering of clinical population data |
Variety | Heterogeneous structured and unstructured data from various sources both qualitative (text mining medical records) and quantitative (medical images, high-throughput omics data, clinical laboratory tests, environmental data from sensors, etc.) |
Velocity | High-speed processing for fast decision-making in real time or near real time |
Variability | Consistency or inconsistency of the data over time |
Veracity | Data with variable quality and data from uncontrolled environments |
Value | Data relevant to the health of individuals or populations and data from longitudinal studies |
Big data is defined in terms of either the first 3, or all 6, Vs.