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Creating and Developing a Digital Humanities Project - From Inception to Implementation and Dissemination: IMPLEMENTATION, PRESERVATION, AND SHARING

An Essential Step by Step Approach: From Planning to Completing and Disseminating Your Digital Humanities Project.

IMPLEMENTATION, PRESERVATION, AND SUSTAINABILITY

Implementing a digital humanities project involves a multi-step process that includes defining a research question, gathering and digitizing data,, selecting appropriate digital tools, data analysis, design of the project interface, and ultimately presenting the findings in an accessible digital format, often utilizing platforms like websites, interactive maps, or databases while considering accessibility, data preservation, and collaboration with diverse stakeholders through the process.

Preserving a digital humanities project involves actively managing and safeguarding all digital data associated with the project, including text, images, code, and metadata, to ensure long-term accessibility and usability by utilizing open file formats, robust storage strategies, thorough documentation, and collaboration with institutional repositories to mitigate the challenges of technological obsolescence and data decay over time; essentially, planning for the future longevity of the project from its inception.

Key steps for the implementation and preservation of digital humanities projects are outlined below.

IMPLEMENTATION - KEY STEPS

1. Conceptualize and Plan:

  • Define your research question: Clearly articulate the central question your project aims to answer using digital methods. 
  • Identify data sources: Determine what primary sources (texts, images, audio, etc.) are necessary for your project and where to access them (archives, libraries, online repositories). 
  • Assess feasibility: Consider the time, resources, technical skills, and potential collaborators needed to complete your project. 

2. Data Acquisition and Digitization:

  • Gather data:  Access and collect relevant primary sources, potentially requiring digitization through scanning, recording, or transcription. 
  • Metadata creation:  Develop a comprehensive metadata schema to accurately describe each digital object, including provenance and context. 
  • Data cleaning and organization:  Clean and structure your data to ensure consistency and facilitate analysis. 

3. Choose Digital Tools and Platforms:

  • Select appropriate software:  Depending on your needs, consider platforms like Omeka, Zotero, DHIS, or custom-built applications for data storage, analysis, and presentation. 
  • Consider programming languages:  If necessary, learn basic coding skills (like Python) for data manipulation and visualization. 

4. Project Development and Design:

  • Interface design: Create a user-friendly interface that allows intuitive navigation and interaction with your data. 
  • Visualization techniques: Utilize appropriate visual elements (maps, timelines, graphs) to effectively communicate your findings. 
  • Accessibility features: Ensure your project is accessible to users with disabilities. 

5. Implementation and Dissemination:

  • Testing and refinement:  Thoroughly test your project with potential users to identify issues and make necessary adjustments. 
  • Publish and share:  Choose a suitable platform to host your project, potentially through an institutional repository or dedicated website. 
  • Documentation and outreach:  Create clear documentation about your methodology and findings, and engage with the wider academic community to share your research. 

6. Important Considerations:

  • Ethical considerations:  Respect copyright laws, obtain necessary permissions, and acknowledge data sources appropriately. 
  • Data preservation:  Develop a plan to ensure the long-term accessibility and preservation of your digital data. 
  • Collaboration:  Consider working with technical experts, librarians, and other scholars to leverage diverse skill sets. 

READINGS

VandeCreek, Drew (2022). Where Are They Now? The 2020 Status of Early (1996-2003) Online Digital Humanities Projects and an Analysis on Institutional Factors Correlated to heir Survival," Preservation, Digital Technology & Culture 51(3): 91-109.

Description: Researchers have suggested that free-use digital humanities websites remain online for an average of five years and that larger, more functionally specialized and wealthier institutions are more likely than other organizations to continue to make them available online for a long period after their initial development. A study of fifty-nine websites created with funds provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities Education Development and Demonstration program 1996–2003 reveals a different situation. The data show that 68% of these websites remained online for free use in September, 2020, suggesting an online lifespan of approximately eleven to sixteen years. Further statistical analysis reveals that a significantly higher proportion of websites hosted by academic institutions remained available online in September, 2020 (74%) than websites hosted by non-academic institutions (45%). However, a comparison of types of academic institution revealed that a significantly lower proportion of websites hosted by R1 and R2 institutions remained available (67.5%) compared to websites hosted by Associates colleges, Baccalaureate colleges, and Masters/Comprehensive universities (100%). Comparing R1 institutions to all other types of institutions revealed identical proportions of available websites (R1: 68%; other: 68.0%). Analyses of institutional expenditures and institutional financial assets showed that neither factor produced a significant effect. Institutions with sites remaining available in 2020 showed higher levels of both expenditures and assets compared to institutions with sites not available, but neither of these differences was significant by a standard commonly used in the social sciences.

Marsili, G., & Orlandi, L. M. (2020). Digital humanities and cultural heritage preservation: The case of the BYZART (byzantine art and archaeology on europeana) project. Studies in Digital Heritage 3(2): 144–155.

Description: The development of Information Technology and Digital Humanities has brought numerous significant changes to the Cultural Heritage domain. The Digital Humanities has become a dynamic and fertile research field, and new projects and opportunities are constantly flourishing. The BYZART project perfectly fits this context. This project is coordinated by the Department of History and Cultures of the University of Bologna, embracing a wide consortium of partners from Bulgaria, Greece and Italy. It aims at enhancing Byzantine and Post-Byzantine artistic and cultural heritage within the Europeana platform. This project will enrich the existing Europeanacollections with about 75,000 new cultural and artistic multimedia objects relevant to Byzantine history and culture, including collections of digitized photos, video and audio content, and 3-D surveys and reconstructions. We have also established a liaison between the new materials and Byzantine-related content already existing on Europeana. The archival material collected and digitized by the BYZART consortium is of the greatest cultural and art-historical importance, but until now, it has not been properly evaluated or published. For this reason, BYZART aims to guarantee the preservation and evaluation of significant cultural heritage objects from a wide range of contexts, while also making them accessible to scholarly and general audiences alike.

 

 

 

PRESERVATION

Miller, A. (2019). Digital Project Preservation Plan: A Guide for Preserving Digital Humanities / Scholarship Projects.

James E. Walker Library, Middle Tennessee State University.

This preservation plan is most beneficial to those digital humanities (DH) project creators who need guidance on how to start a digital project with preservation in mind. Although the DH community has shared resources and case studies, the examples available tend to focus on DH development, and less on DH preservation. These resources are also located in disparate locations. The Digital Project Preservation Plan is a singular guide, focusing on DH preservation, as a starting point with references to more resources and related DH practices. This is a working document, available to practitioners in whole or part; ideally, it will be used in the early stages of project planning and consulted and revised regularly. The preservation infrastructure should be designed and built as a collaborative effort from the beginning of the project. As priorities, methods and technologies change, the preservation plan will need to be updated and modified accordingly. 

See: DP3 Full Plan-Guide and Templates.pdf (7.12 MB):
Project Charter Template.pdf (953.11 KB)
Digital File Inventory Template.pdf (883.88 KB)
Project Profile Template.pdf (701.95 KB)
Collaborators Web Publishing Agreement.pdf (717.91 KB)
Universal Design Checklist Template.pdf (1.36 MB)
Preservation Guidance Checklist.pdf (916.1 KB)

PRESERVATION

Data Management Plan (DMP):

  • Clearly document the project's data types, formats, sources, collection methods, metadata standards, and access restrictions. 
  • Outline strategies for data backup, migration, and preservation throughout the project lifecycle. 

Data Storage:

  • Reliable Digital Repository: Choose a reputable digital repository with robust preservation practices, like a university library or a dedicated digital preservation service. 
  • Multiple Backups: Maintain multiple copies of your data across different storage locations to mitigate data loss. 

Data Migration:

  • Regular Updates: Periodically transfer data to newer file formats to prevent obsolescence due to technological changes. 
  • Emulation Software: Consider using emulation software to access older file formats if necessary. 

Metadata Creation:

  • Detailed Descriptions: Include rich metadata for each data item, including contextual information, creator details, usage rights, and technical specifications. 
  • Standards Compliance: Adhere to established metadata standards for easier discovery and interoperability. 

Documentation:

  • Project Documentation: Thoroughly document project methodologies, tools used, decision-making processes, and any limitations. 
  • Code Documentation: If applicable, provide clear comments and explanations for any custom code developed for the project. 

Open Source Technologies:

  • Software Selection: Where possible, utilize open-source software to ensure long-term accessibility and maintainability of your project. 

Collaboration with Libraries:

  • Expertise: Consult with digital librarians or preservation specialists to leverage their knowledge and resources for best practices. 
  • Depositing Collections: Explore options to deposit your digital project in a library repository for broader access and preservation. 

Important Considerations:

  • File Format Selection:  Choose file formats with good long-term preservation potential, such as PDF/A, TIFF, or standard text formats. 
  • Access Control:  Determine appropriate access levels for your data based on copyright and privacy concerns. 
  • Sustainability Planning:  Consider the long-term costs and technical requirements for maintaining and updating your digital project. 

GRANTS

The Digital Humanities Advancement Grants program (DHAG) - a section of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) - supports work that is innovative, experimental, and contributes to the critical infrastructure that underpins scholarly research, teaching, and public programming in the humanities.  

DHAG is one of many grant programs at the NEH that funds digital humanities projects. Please consult these resources to help find the right program to support your work. Prospective applicants seeking ODH staff feedback about the fit of their project to the DHAG program are invited to submit a brief project description by emailing odh@neh.gov.  

NEH partners with the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) on this program. IMLS encourages DHAG applicants to work in collaboration, and employ the expertise of, library and archives staff at your institution or across the country to strengthen knowledge networks, empower community learning, foster civic cohesion, advance research, and support the traditionally underserved.