  Background: Big Data is a relatively new field of research and technology,
and literature reports a wide variety of concepts labeled with Big Data. The
maturity of a research field can be measured in the number of publications
containing empirical results. In this paper we present the current status of
empirical research in Big Data. Method: We employed a systematic mapping method
with which we mapped the collected research according to the labels Variety,
Volume and Velocity. In addition, we addressed the application areas of Big
Data. Results: We found that 151 of the assessed 1778 contributions contain a
form of empirical result and can be mapped to one or more of the 3 V's and 59
address an application area. Conclusions: The share of publications containing
empirical results is well below the average compared to computer science
research as a whole. In order to mature the research on Big Data, we recommend
applying empirical methods to strengthen the confidence in the reported
results. Based on our trend analysis we consider Volume and Variety to be the
most promising uncharted area in Big Data.
