Big Data and evaluation : background, benefits and challenges

This article provides an overview of the opportunities, challenges, and obstacles that Big Data (Analytics) presents in the field of evaluation. In addition to sketching the background of this new and interesting area of research and data source, the article also presents some developments on how Big Data (Analytics) have been used in recent years. It is clear that Big Data (Analytics) present remarkable opportunities for evaluators to analyze policies in innovative ways. At the same time, these opportunities do not seem to have been exploited so far. This may be the consequence of the challenges of using Big Data (Analytics), which is also discussed in this article. The article concludes arguing that Big Data (Analytics) will probably become more and more important in the field of evaluation and policy research. [Publishers' text].