18 Matching Annotations
  1. Aug 2017
    1. Creating a corpus is generally the most daunting obstacle that confronts the historian. 

      Is this a a popular tool? If not, could the time it takes to prepare to use it why it is not used? Who else could this software benefit other than historians?

    2. The texts comprise what is called the “corpus.” Computer-aided corpus linguistics looks for mathematical relationships between words in a body of texts.

      In historians craft we had to use Voyant to do this with a primary source our professor uploaded. Although it frequently crashed and most members of my class had issues with it, I found this tool very interesting. Demonstrating various patterns in written sources. How could this tool be used in historical research? Who uses this tool? For what purpose?

  2. Jul 2017
    1. If historians insist on perfect data, however, we risk ignoring huge swathes of the digital archive.

      How often do these sources get ignored? How many sources are past over for this reason? How much information is lost or ignored?

    2. In the case of the Telegraph and Texas Register, 9.4% of its digitized words did not appear in a dictionary, while the Houston Daily Post had a substantially higher percentage (19.7%) of unrecognizable words

      Although I sure historians and other academics who use these source can understand the sources even if a few words are slightly altered, how often does this happen in general? Has this affect the work of academics? Altered the meaning of documents they used for their research. Not necessarily lost in translation but affected by technological change.

    1. a task usually performed by skilled researchers, via the web to members of the public who require no specialist training or background knowledge in order to participate. The project team developed the "Transcription Desk", a website, tool and interface to facilitate web-based transcription and encoding of common features of the manuscripts in Text Encoding Initiative-compliant XML. Transcripts submitted by volunteers are subsequently uploaded to UCL’s digital repository, linked to the relevant manuscript image and made searchable, while the transcripts will also eventually form the basis of printed editions of Bentham’s works.[4

      Answering my previous question! I find this so interesting. In Historian craft we had a guest lecture by an archivist how explained the process of cataloging and creating collections. Although I do not remember specific terms he used it was a long process for one person to create what many of us use for research. This not only saves time but gets others involved in the process. I wonder how often is crowdsourcing used? Any other projects that anyone knows of I could look at?

    2. This material has significant implications for our understanding of utilitarian thought, the history of sexual morality, atheism, and agnosticism. Bentham’s writings on his panopticon prison scheme still require transcription, as do large swathes of important material on civil, penal, and constitutional law, on economics, and on legal and political philosophy.

      This is so interesting. To be involved in this work would be fascinating. How does one get involved in crowdsoucring? Postings? Is it as simple as being picked to do the job or is some experience needed?

    1. They’re flexible, in that ethics are respected (i.e. TCPS 2), but has a laudable goal: to enhance progress within fields of research, avoid duplication of primary collection of data (emphasis mine), as well as support the expansion of inter-disciplinary research.

      This is what I was saying and I notice that others commented on in a previous article. We should be looking at getting the information out there, working with various other fields as much as possible, attempting to create work that is not just 'mine' but ours. Any advancements done in research or anything else should be seen as an advancement for all and hopefully it is. This is why open notebooks and changing digital archives and archive policies will help this become a reality or stronger reality then it is today.

      http://wcm1.web.rice.edu/open-notebook-history.html

    1. but imagine how our publications might be enriched and improved if we lifted our gems to the sunlight before we decided which ones to set and which ones to discard?

      I completely agree, I understand other classmates comments about the fear that academics may have about others stealing their ideas and publishing first. The prestige that comes with a published work is very important yet won't collaboration and the sharing of ideas before publication help shape and refine a work even more? Would it not benefit to have various perspectives and collaboration through various fields in as many projects as possible?

    1. that the technology is defining the questions we ask.

      I find this interesting. How does the technology we have today shape how we study history? How does the various technologies we use help frame our questions and motivate our research? I have always had a difficult time adjusting to and use various type of technology, how does my work differ with those who are more comfortable with various technologies?

    1. If historians are to take on the dual roles of arbiter of data for the public and investigator of forgotten stories, they will also need to take a more active part in preserving data and talking to the public about what is being preserved and what is not.

      This is very interesting. I think that most common reactionI get from people when I say I study history is "oh, that's nice and what are you going to do with that?" Although I'm used to it and have my answer rehearsed, this point demonstrates the multiple roles that historians play.

      The concept of remembering is also an interesting one. How do preserve data? Has the various technologies of today affected how we remember the past positively or negatively?

    2. The result is a generation of databases critical of both nation-states and corporations, which give evidence for alternative histories of the present.

      I have always found the workings of the archive and the work of archivists interesting. Collecting data which was believed to be important. Now, with online archives and the new technology available it allows archives to have more space and to have new sources available to them. How does the technological advancements of todays society affect the way we do history? How does it change the nature of the archive?

    1. what can we know of the past?

      This is a question that I always keep in the back of my mind as I study history or read any historical document. Not only in relation to the limitations of various sources but to any information connected to history. How do we know what we know?

    1. new means of representing the past (whether through sound, graphics, maps, or the Web)

      I have always been interested in this! How has our representation of the past changed with the increase of technology? How does the use of material change? What new way will we be able to interact with the past in the future? I think this is what attracts me to digital history.

    1. This project indexed word and phrase frequency across over five million books, enabling researchers to trace the rise and fall of cultural ideas and phenomena through targeted keyword and phrase searches and their frequency over time.

      I have used this before for other classes and really enjoyed working with this system. It was easy to use, allowed to to download the charts to add into essays or for other works. You could use specific titles or genres, I found it very interesting.

    2. his sort of work presages the growing importance of linked open data, which points towards the increasingly trend in putting information online in a format that other computer programs can read.

      Not only is this an excellent way to get information out there, its more efficient to do research. This may of course go without saying however, not long ago history students did not have the programs we do now to tests their ideas and gain insight for their research.

    1. Maybe digital history is at the midway point on the continuum between art and science.

      I never looked at digital history this way. It might help me work through the difficult parts if you have this in mind. It's not a whole new language completely just expanding my knowledge of two other things I'm interested in.