Framing Digital Work

Facilitate Research

Augment Pedagogy

Expand Career Options

Research

Photo: merlin1487 (Flickr)​ 

Pedagogy

Career Options

Photo: ableman (Flickr)

Literacies for Digital  Projects

Tools

Methods

Project Management

Data Manipulation

+ Data Curation

Methods

• Start with case studies

• Read and discuss methods literature

• Where does the method work? Where does it fall short?

• DH is often much more open and verbose about methods than other scholarship

Tools

• Entry level vs. full use

  • ex: Palladio vs Gephi/CartoDB
  • ex: Voyant vs AntConc

• Sample data is almost always available

  • If not with tool, on web tutorial

• 2:1 ratio (two parts instruction, 1 part 'play')

• There will almost always be a significant hurdle to using your own data

• Discuss: How are methods enacted through tools? How do tools dictate methods? How does available data dictate both?

Data Manipulation and Curation

• Cleaning/reorganizing data to fit needs

  • OpenRefine and Python

• Documentation and citations are key to transparency

• Metadata, naming conventions and organization avoid headaches down the road

• See: Data Information Literacy from Jake Carlson (UM Librarian)

Project Managment

• Learn through practice

• Determining appropriate scope and timeframe for a project

• Communication, collaboration, schedule management (Gantt Chart)

• Working through hindrances, dead ends, redefining, reworking, and problem solving

Building Skills into PhD Program

Projects should either:

• Technical skills are much more difficult out of context
• Praxis is essential
• Buy-in from PhD students can be difficult if there is no clear reward structure

Produce deliverables

Advance disseration research

The 'Add-on' Model

• One short meeting per week
• Conduct digital research and/or publication for research conducted in a course or a chapter of a dissertation
  • Seminar for first 2-3 weeks
  • Tool tutorial/workshops for next 1-2 weeks
  • Peer presentations and reviews, data management consultation, discussion for remaining weeks

Photo: 109022180@N03 (Flickr)

The 'Collaborative Project' Model

• The whole class produces a digital project
• Lead with readings, workshops, but later focus on work and reflection in class
• Can divide into different teams working on different aspects, or everyone can focus on one skill
• Opportunity to learn project management in collaborative space
• Especially good for alt-ac careers
• Ex: Fanny Fern in the New York Ledger | Nebraska
  • http://spacely.unl.edu/cocoon/fannyfern/
• Ex: Digital History Methods | Rice
  • http://ricedh.github.io/index.html

The Short, Intensive Model

• Effective for technical learning
• Can be difficult to work through methodology
• Good for cohort building
• Build mornings around workshops, discussion, afternoon for individual/group work

  • Build in extra time. It will take longer than you think

• Models and materials available from intensive bootcamps: dhtraining.org/hilt/ + dhsi.org
• Potentially tied to a symposium/lightning talk event several months later

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