Investigating the Challenges of Big Data Analytics from the Viewpoints of Students in Mashhad in 2019

Introduction: Nowadays Big Data Analytics has attracted students for research due to its very high capabilities, but there are also obstacles to analyses that need to be addressed. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the viewpoints of students of different disciplines at Mashhad universities on the challenges of this analysis. Method: This study is a cross-sectional study conducted on students of different universities and fields such as computer engineering, pharmacy, industry and biology in Mashhad, Iran. A questionnaire based on literature review in Pubmed, Google scholar, and science direct databases was designed by 10 experts from different disciplines using Delphi method. 185 students participated in the study. Students' viewpoints on the challenges were also collected. Descriptive and analytical results were reported using SPSS 21 and Maxqda software. Results: The age range of most students was 25 - 34 years. 54.2% were female. Most of the participants in this study were students of engineering and medical informatics. Of the participants in this study, 96.4% considered big data analytics necessary, 50.6% were familiar with the benefits of analytics. Lack of awareness, inadequate management, lack of managers' knowledge, lack of expertise, and lack of priority were the most important challenges for students. Conclusion: Despite the importance and benefits of big data analytics, challenges are a major barrier to use that need to be addressed.