Research infrastructures

This collection of modules from the PARTHENOS project comprise the 'PARTHENOS Complete Guide to Research Infrastructures'. Each module meets the needs of users at different levels: An 'Introduction to Research Infrastructures' for Beginners; 'Management Challenges in Research Infrastructures' for Intermediate level; and 'Introduction to Collaborations in Research Infrastructures' for Advanced levels.

This workshop, focussing on "Spatial data medieval to modern", is the first of a series of workshops from the NOS-HS project "Linking, Building, and Sustaining Humanities Digital Spatial Infrastructures for Research in the Nordic Countries". The main aims of this workshop were to define key concepts (spatial infrastructures, Linked Open Data, metadata, ontology), outline major challenges in the field, and to provide an opportunity to share experiences of addressing the issues in individual and national projects across the Nordic countries.

This module looks at some of the key management issues that arise within research infrastructures.

This is a record of a webinar dedicated to the phases of the research lifecycle "Carry out Research" & "Analyse Data" in the context of a research infrastructure. Carrying out research and analysis in the context of a research infrastructure requires a change in approach to research, where the harmonization of data and the ability to access and deploy interoperable services is crucial. This webinar gives an overview of the necessary elements required to set up a sustainable research infrastructure with regards to the management of data and services.

By the end of this training module, you will be able to: understand the elements of common definitions of research infrastructures; be able to discuss the importance of issues such as sustainability and interoperability; understand how research infrastructure supports methods and communities; and be aware of some common critiques of digital research infrastructures in the Humanities.

This module examines what is meant by collaboration in humanities research and how this model impacts upon the development of digital humanities, and digital humanities research infrastructures.

This is a record of a webinar dedicated to the phase of the research life cycle "Plan Research Project". It first introduces the participants to an understanding of the advantages and practicalities of research collaboration in and with Research infrastructures. It then dives into details of project planning, touches upon the basics of the FAIR principles, and focuses especially on the importance of using standards in Digital Humanities and Cultural Heritage research and how to identify relevant standards for the participants' own research. This webinar gives an introduction to the Standards Survival Kit that is developed within PARTHENOS. It also cross-links to other materials developed within PARTHENOS and by the PARTHENOS Cluster Partners.

In this lecture from the Austrian Centre for Digital Humanities and Cultural Heritage (ACDH-CH), Professor Crane discusses the need for a global philology. Combining classical philology and computer science, Crane aims to apply computer-based methods to the study of human cultural development. He discusses the necessity for project oriented, research, reusable code and infrastructures which support it.

This blog examines TEITOK, which is a corpus framework used as an alternative to Omeka. TEITOK is centered around texts and is similar to the Omeka interface – both allow you to search through the documents, and display the transcription. The main difference is that Omeka treats the transcription as an object description, whereas TEITOK not only shows that a word appears in a document, but also where it appears and how it is used.

This is a record of a webinar providing a theoretical basis for a general understanding of the digital and infrastructural turn in the (Digital) Humanities and Cultural Heritage along with theoretical and critical reflections around the topic: Which opportunities and challenges do Cultural Heritage and Digital Humanities Research Infrastructures offer for research(ers)?

This module is dedicated to developing research questions in the Digital Humanities (DH), especially on finding, working with, and contributing data to digital collections and using digital Research Infrastructures (RIs).

This tutorial explains the fundamentals of the DARIAH-DE Publikator, a tool which allows you to prepare, manage, and finally import your collections into the DARIAH-DE Repository using your favourite internet browser. The Repository provides the ability to store research data and enrich them with metadata. Through the use of persistent identifiers, a permanent machine-readable reference is ensured and findable via a generic search. The tutorial contains guides for users as well as technical documentation.

This tutorial explains the fundamentals and usage of the DARIAH-DE Collection Registry, a tool that allows you to describe and index data collections. The manual gives an overview of the usability and functionalities of the Collection Registry and introduces best practice recommendations.

This is a record of a webinar dedicated to the phase of the Research Lifecycle "Publish Results". It covers several aspects related to successfully drafting and implementing a publication and dissemination strategy taking into account specific Research Infrastructural aspects.

This is a record of a webinar dedicated to the phase of the research life cycle "Develop Research Questions". It dives into details of the topic of developing research questions with RIs, especially on finding, working with and contributing data to RI collections, using Virtual Research Environments, and tools.

Martin Lhoták first began digital research in an IT department, which formed his connection with information systems and databases, as well as the development of software tools and the digital humanities. Unlike many librarians, he does not have a humanist background, but instead a technical education, so finds that he speaks differently from the humanities scholars he works with. However he finds interactions with these scholars interesting and inspiring. Regarding training, he argues that being technically knowledgeable - though not necessarily a programmer themselves - is essential for doing research in the digital humanities.

What skills, knowledge and workforces are needed into the future? This panel discusses interdisciplines and methods, emerging data practices and 'Humanities 4.0'. It features presentations by Professor Jean Burgess (Director, Digital Media Research Centre, Queensland University of Technology) on Digital methods and the future of communication and media research and Professor Joy Damousi FASSA FAHA (Lead Chief Investigator) on Future Humanities Workforce project and by Associate Professor Mitchell Whitelaw (Australian National University).

In this video, Sinai Rusinek explains her background in philosophy, together with her experience of the material text from work in the library. In her postdoctoral career, she began to seek out digital techniques that had not been available to her in her single-disciplinary studies. Dr Rusinek reveals that her own source of learning was at international workshops, including one organised by DARIAH-DE. She found this mode of learning inspiring in organising her own workshops and hackathons in Israel. She recommends that we should all think more about learning environments and how we learn best, collaboratively. Possibly, she recommends, we should organise more 'hackathon-like' events.

In this video, Laurent Romary gives his perspective on training and education in research infrastructures. He reveals how his engineering background taught him precision in analysing computer concepts, and how this has impacted on his role in a humanities research infrastructure. He proceeds to focus on DARIAH's role as a 'people infrastructure' and the importance of training in that. He considers the importance of adaptability of training to learners from differents scholarly communities and competence levels.

What are the big challenges and opportunities for data-intensive research over the next ten years? This panel discusses digital transformations in the humanities and arts, data ethics and sovereignty, and infrastructure with impact. It features presentations by Dr James Rose (Indigenous Studies Unit, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health) on Data Sovereignty in a Colonial Context: Towards an Integrated National Governance Framework for Australia, Dr James Smithies (Director, King's Digital Lab) on Integrating DH into the longue durée: Research Laboratories, History, Methods.

Professor Jennifer Edmond, President of the Board of Directors of DARIAH-EU, presents pathways to building sustainable infrastructure over time, future directions for DARIAH, the humanities and arts in Europe and beyond. She asks the audience to help DARIAH to think about what it means to be a European reseach infrastructure.

Salvador Ros has a background in physics and computer science, and is now working in the digital humanities. Humanities scholars and scientists have different ways of thinking, he points out in this video. This can be a problem, he finds. Both sides lack knowledge about each other's disciplines, so researchers have to talk a lot, exchange ideas - to try to understand each other. Humanities scholars who want to conduct digital research need to know at least the basic concepts of the relevant programming languages, he argues. He ends by discussing the definition and roles of a 'research infrastructure' such as DARIAH, especially in facilitating digital tools and how to use them in relation to our research questions.

Agiatis Benardou began her academic career with degrees in ancient history, and her first employment was in cultural organisations. She met and was hired by a scholar who introduced her to digitisation projects and as a result she was exposed to the 'digital world'. Dr Bernardou became involved in preparing DARIAH as a project, and her experience in digitisation was useful in her professional transition into work in a research infrastructure. She argues that research infrastructures are all about people. They should focus on inspiring researchers theoretically, and also practically by exposing them to the most state-of-the-art tools and techniques.

Building on an unusual interdisciplinary background that combined computer science and literature in equal measure, Frank Fischer found his place in the digital humanities. In this video, he explains how his background has enabled him to understand 'both sides' of a digital humanities project - i.e. the humanities and the technical. He discusses the distinction between formal and informal education, arguing that the more 'alternative' teaching methods used in the digital humanities (workshops, summer schools etc) are crucial in developing new skills. Finally, he discusses how research infrastructures are vital in providing this kind of hands-on training, since they synthesise the 'social' and the 'technical'.

Claire Clivaz explains how she has found that the tensions between disciplines in interdisciplinary work can be similar no matter what disciplines are being combined. Encounters between biology and computing, for example, can be as challenging as between humanities disciplines and computing. Dr Clivaz, herself, began her academic career in biblical manuscript studies but developed an interest in the digital humanities very quickly, at a time when the impact of computing was being felt in the humanities more widely. She explains the usefulness of the DH Course Registry in finding university-based, formal, DH training in Switzerland. However, she argues that informal opportunities to learn are crucial. One phrase that appears again and again in the digital humanities, she states, is: continuous training.

This module looks at emerging trends and best practice in data management, quality assessment and IPR issues. It looks at policies regarding data management and their implementation, particularly in the framework of a Research Infrastructure.

This lecture by Mark Algee-Hewitt reflects on practices of doing research in the digital humanities and how the way in which we talk about research impacts upon the kind of things that we can do.

How do we design infrastructure that connects? This panel discusses collaborative platforms, partnerships between research and cultural sectors, and libraries as labs. It features presentations by Seb Chan — Chief Experience Officer, Australian Centre for the Moving Image and Dr Marie-Louise Ayres — Director General, National Library of Australia.

In this lecture, Roxanne Wyns discusses her experiences with research infrastructures and, specifically, the challenges we face concerning sustainability.

In this video, Jennifer Edmond gives us insights into her background in critical theory approaches and German literary history, through a spell in technical support and research strategy in the humanities, and how this has impacted her work in DARIAH. She talks about the importance of pushing beyond the foundations of your academic training to do new things in the humanities. How can the system vaildate this kind of groundbreaking research, and make it possible for early career researchers to make the leap? She explains the unique role of DARIAH in this process.

In this lecture, Sally Chambers, Digital Humanities Research Coordinator at the Ghent Centre for Digital Humanities outlines how DARIAH as a Research Infrastructure works within Europe to connect with arts and humanities researchers. She elaborates on how such a European Research Infrastructure could start to work more widely internationally.

The DARIAH Winter School 'Open Data Citation for Social Sciences and Humanities' brought together researchers, professionals with various backgrounds, and students from 15 countries. In total 38 people met in Prague, Czech Republic, to learn about various aspects of open access and open data, as well as many other subjects on digital research.

This video tutorial provides a step-by-step guide through the DARIAH-DE Publikator, a tool that enables its users to upload data(-sets) into the DARIAH-DE Repository and index them with metadata. The tool is part of the larger DARIAH-DE Data Federation Architecture, aiming to support the FAIRification of research data with regards to the research data life cycle.

Maija Paavolainen explains the challenges of finding a 'common language' in the digital humanities. She finds that simply talking about this issue helps. Thus, experience in communicating across disciplines is a positive outcome of training initiatives in itself. The role of research infrastructures, she argues, is certainly in sharing tools and best practices. However, most importantly, it is also to create opportunities for people to meet and learn face-to-face. She explains that humanities scholars are more accustomed to using digital methods and tools in the initial (information gathering) and final (publication) stages of research. However, DARIAH, specifically, can help them to also use them in the core part of the research process - i.e. in organising, annotating, and enriching data.

This video features a keynote speech given by Riccardo Pozzo, in his capacity as Chair of the DARIAH Scientific Board, during the final event for the DESIR project, held in Zagreb in November 2019. In it, he discusses co-creation and cultural innovation, and how research infrastructures play a key role in this.

In this lecture, Mark Cote takes us on a journey through a host of research projects that contextualise the way that he and other researchers try to address cultural data.

In this lecture, Quinn Dombrowski shares her thoughts on Digital Humanities Infrastructure, with a special focus on sustainability. She argues that solidarity (i.e. recognition of the interests of the larger group) is a prerequisite for the sustainability of DH infrastructures.

This module looks at the variety of practices within 'citizen science', how you as a humanist might get started working with them, what issues you should be wary of along the way and how Research Infrastructures can potentially help you.

Mikko Tolonen was the first keynote speaker at the DARIAH Annual Event 2016. His talk was entitled 'Applying modern data analytics to classical questions in the humanities: a perspective from Finland'. It drew attention to the benefits of interdisciplinarity and effective communication between 'centred' disciplines for research in the digital humanities