This repo has been archived. Please see the SMU@DHRI website for the most current information.

Digital projects, research and tools

We have been discussing different aspects and stages of digital scholarship projects. In this session we will discuss how you can find and assess tools.

Process for DHRI

• We will be sharing the links to a Github Repository for each session in Slack before each synchronous session. You can also get to them from the Curriculum page.
• This is the first year where DHRI has been planned to have both asynchronous and synchronous components. Here is how we have organized the content.
  • As you are reading, we you will see four categories of content:
    • Asynchronous Content presentation (unmarked). Please read ahead of time.
    • Asynchronous Activity (indicated by green check mark ✅). Please make sure you read this content before a session. Some questions have corresponding Slack channels or discussion, others are just marked so you are thinking about them beforehand as they are topics we will be discussing in the synchronous session.
    • Synchronous Content presentation (indicated by a yellow dot 🟡). This indicates a page that has content we will go over together; you do not need to engage with this content ahead of time.
    • Synchronous Activity (unmarked). We will do these activities together in the synchronous sessions.
• As you read each repository please put questions/comments in the Slack channel.
• If text appears blue in a repository, that just means it is a hyperlink.
  • These repositories are structured in such a way that they will direct our conversations during the institute, but also so that you can return to them later to review the material.

Required before this session (8/10/21)

• All content is ✅ marked throughout; it is also all gathered on this page.

How do you look for or choose a tool?

• Like any other type of a tool, you want to look for a tool that helps you accomplish a specific task.
• What is it you are trying to do?
  • We are referring back to the M. Posner reading in this session.
• A tool is a 'fancy program' someone else (or multiple someones) wrote. What did they create it to do?
• Think about the stage you are at in your project. Does the tool do what you need at this stage?
  • You can assess a tool like we assess a project. What does the About page say? Is there a gallery or example page?

You may have broad goals around the following:

Sources: What data or other materials do you want to analyze?

• Digital Humanities and data
• Acquiring, cleaning, and creating data
• Identifying the differences between unstructured, semi-structured, and structured data.
• Distinguishing between different file types, their definitions, and applications.
• Applying intellectual property rights to the downloading and sharing of data.
• Practicing different ways of downloading or broad creating data.

Processing: How can these resources/materials be analyzed or prepared for analysis?

• The Command Line (Python)
• Working with tools (openrefine, Voyant)

Presenting: How do you want to share your sources and your findings?

• Are you trying to create multiple discrete images for a text or presentations?
• Are you trying to create a static or interactive visualization?

Additional considerations to "What is it you want to do?"

• Where are you in the process?
• Your goals and your constraints (limitations of time, money, expertise, etc.) will dictate your choices (topics, training, partners, tools, programming, etc.)

eternal september

✅ Read the following post.

• eternal september of the digital humanities by Bethany Nowviskie
• How does the author discuss communities of practice in DH?
• How have they changed for her? What is your experience with them?
• • Think about a time you joined a new community (for example: starting a new school (college, grad school), a new job (teaching), a new hobby, etc.)
• What do you think about the ‘eternal September’ metaphor?
• What does it mean to practice as digital humanist?

Next >>>

What you will find in this repository.

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Choose a tool

How to choose a tool

Required before this session (8/10/21)

Follow up

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Session Leaders: Rafia Mirza & Jonathan McMichael

• Written by Rafia Mirza. Edited by Joanna Russell Bliss.
• Our curriculum is based on the Digital Research Institute (DHRI) Curriculum by Graduate Center Digital Initiatives.
  This repository contains information for using and contributing to the Digital Humanities Research Institute curriculum

Digital Research Institute (DRI) Curriculum by Graduate Center Digital Initiatives is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Based on a work at https://github.com/DHRI-Curriculum. When sharing this material or derivative works, preserve this paragraph, changing only the title of the derivative work, or provide comparable attribution.