Shaping new approaches to data management in arts and humanities

1.Caring for data to shape the future

Abstract

Keynote

Where do our commitments lie in safeguarding our collective cultural memory? How does the overwhelming and unstoppable digital revolution change our social, cultural and scholarly life and how does it lead us to rethink and reshape our priorities? In her keynote speech, Prof. Fernanda Rollo shows us how the global societal challenges and sustainable development goals of our age shape data challenges and responsibilities within the Digital Humanities. She defines 7 key areas that will directly influence new approaches to data management in the arts and humanities:- Awareness and training

• Digital heritage
• The frightening and overwhelming loss of digital heritage
• Preservation of digital heritage
• Organization of digital heritage
• Collaborative work
• A cultural changeThe second half of the talk outlines how pillars of the Open Science paradigm (such as Citizen Science, training and advocacy, Open Access publishing models, infrastructures, new research metrics) are instrumental in tackling these issues.

2.What is Data in the Humanities?

Abstract

In the Humanities domain, we see a broad diversity of perceptions on what constitutes scholarly data and such perceptions carry tacit assumptions that could and should define domain or discipline-specific approaches to research data sharing workflows. In this workshop, participants will be encouraged to examine their own scholarly practices and those of others, refining our responses to the fundamental question: “what are Humanities research data?” After a warm-up session dedicated to epistemological reflections on the role of data within humanities research, the session introduces the participants to the basics in research data management, data services and the FAIR principles in a humanities context. The aim is to see how all these at first potentially abstract new concepts enable researchers to conduct more effective research if they are well-translated into community practices.Clearly, the generic research data management guidelines do not always align well with the cultural, conceptual and epistemological complexity of research data in the arts and humanities and the many entailments of this complexity, such as:- Data in the humanities comes in a wide variety of source types, formats and corpus sizes. The word ‘data’ itself is hardly used and mostly replaced by the notion of primary sources;

• Researchers can lack know-how as to how to deal with the various dimensions of data management: documentation, hosting, identification or re-use conditions are not part of the education curricula in the humanities;
• A fundamental difference between the epistemic cultures of hard sciences and arts and humanities is that in the arts and humanities the wide range of scholarly information referred to as cultural heritage data are not autonomous products of research projects but are deeply embedded in the memory of the institutions (museums, libraries, archives) that preserve, curate and (co)produce them;
• These institutions are not only data providers, as ownership of heritage data is inherently shared between them, the researcher communities, the public, and the people and cultures that give rise to the objects in question.
• Access to and the digital availability of cultural heritage is the primary condition of research in the majority of humanities disciplines that defines the reusability and accessibility of scholarship built on them.During the session, we are going to address these challenges one by one in the context of responsible open data sharing practices. Participants are encouraged to discuss data management issues related to their own projects (or project ideas) ideas and to contact the trainers beforehand.

3.Data and Software citation practices and PIDs

Abstract

This session will provide an overview of persistent identifiers, outline their importance and also provide an overview of how to cite data and software. During this highly interactive session we will both overview the why and how of data and software citation and discuss issues that can be encountered specifically in a humanities context.

4.Open Research Notebooks

Abstract

This session provides an introduction to Jupyter notebooks and their potentials for well-documented, reproducible and reusable Digital Humanities outputs and workflows. More specifically, it covers the following topics:- The history of research notebooks

• Environments
• Hosted vs Local
• The Python ecosystem
• Data analysis with Pandas
• Text analysis with SpaCy
• Visualization with Seaborn and Matplotlib
• Examples for the application of Jupiter notebooks in Digital Humanities research projects.

5.Copyright and (Open) Licensing

Abstract

As researchers, we are both creators of intellectual works and users of others’ works. Copyright addresses the proper balance between the interests of creators and the possibility of reuse by the public. We will therefore look at principles of copyright and statutory licenses for research and education and investigate the provisions of the recent EU Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market. In addition, we will discuss how Open licenses like Creative Commons work in theory and practice and how we can employ them to ensure both widespread re-use of our intellectual outputs and proper attribution.

6.Data Management Plans

Abstract

In this workshop we will underline the importance and the role that data management plans play in good data management. A Data Management Plan (DMP) is a formal document that specifies how research data will be handled both during and after a research project, describing what data will be collected / generated, the methodology and standards followed, whether and how this data will be shared and/or made open, and how it will be curated and preserved. DMPs are living documents, updated when needed throughout the research process. More and more research funders require a DMP as a deliverable, but there are several reasons why DMPs are part of good research practices.Learning objectives:- Understand the importance of research data management;

• Discover how a Data Management Plan (DMP) can help you be more efficient in your research;
• Be aware of the European Comission’s requirements on research data;
• Be able to start your own research data management plan.In the second part of the workshop the participants will get to know tools and will start their own data management plan.

7.Innovative publishing practices in the arts and humanities

Abstract

This session aims to approach challenges and innovative models related to multilingualism within bibliodiversity in Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH). The role of language in research practices tends to be considered secondary in STEM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), as there seems to be a tacit assumption that English is widely accepted as the language of communication. English tends to be promoted in (inter)national and European research and innovation policies – mainly written in English and with scarce reference to language use or multilingualism. In this context, SSH specific needs regarding scholarly communication in native languages has to be addressed: in those disciplines where language and concepts are very often not only means of communication but objects of research themselves, the use of mother tongue is indispensable for in-depth understanding, and knowledge co-creation and sharing. In this setting, the challenge of multilingualism should sit alongside the concept of ‘bibliodiversity’, coined by the International Alliance of Independent Publishers, which refers to “cultural diversity applied to the world of books”; that is, underlining the need to encompass a diversity of languages, scientific areas, publication formats, and actors. There are firm grounds to state that bibliodiversity, through multilingual publishing, is an efficient way of protecting national languages and enhancing different academic rhetorical traditions, by reaching specialists and wider audiences in a complementary way. Therefore, it is of the utmost relevance to understand how bibliodiversity, in its manifold formats and multilingual forms, is promoted through innovative practices and high-level programmatic involvement. In order to illustrate this, a presentation will be made of the OPERAS consortium at large, as well as of the more particular scope of the recently EU funded project TRIPLE. Finally, a practical approach will be made taking as reference the UC Digitalis ecosystem, based on the experience of Coimbra University Press.