Collections

& Contexts

https://easyzoom.com/image/139535

Tim Sherratt · @wragge

Play along!

https://slides.com/wragge/utas-collections-contexts

https://glam-workbench.net/

We're all digital historians now...

NAA WWI service records

https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/AutoSearch.asp?Number=B2455

WEST Ernest Robert : Service Number - 5091 : Place of Birth - Benambra VIC : Place of Enlistment - Sale VIC : Next of Kin - (Mother) WEST Mrs F M

Name: WEST Ernest Robert
Service Number: 5091
Place of Birth: Benambra VIC
Place of Enlistment: Sale VIC
Next of Kin: (Mother) WEST Mrs F M

structured data!

The online interface

The big picture

But is this the whole picture?

235,466,138 results!

1915

1954

What are we searching?

New perspectives with data

charts

maps

Putting the history into context using digital collections.

Putting digital collections into context by exploring their history.

digital skills modules

today

Putting the history into contexts using digital collections.

Putting digital collections into contexts by exploring their history.

recontextualising collections

NAA: ST84/1, 1913/119/41-50

http://iabrowse.herokuapp.com/series/ST84-1/browse/

https://www.realfaceofwhiteaustralia.net/faces/

See: Sherratt & Bagnall, 'The people inside' in Seeing the Past with Computers

The Real Face of White Australia

https://github.com/wragge/realface-data

Data repository

https://www.cafhov.com/vic-cedt-index/

https://www.cafhov.com/vic-cedt-index/visualisations/

What's missing?

Search engines lie
Relevance is overrated
Access is never open
Websites are never published

critical approaches to collections

Search engines lie

2022

2011

Trove has a history

Simple or Advanced?

Query	Results	Explanation
divorce	1,148,424	Searches full text
title:divorce	214,800	Searches headlines only

Fields or fulltext

Query	Results	Explanation
white OR australia	47,406,097
white australia	5,617,345	Same as white AND australia
"white australia"	155,908	Search for phrase (with stemming)
text:"white australia"	151,707	Search for phrase (no stemming)
"white australia"~0	149,762	Search for phrase (no extra words)
text:"white australia"~0	146,302	Search for phrase (no extra words and no stemming)

De-fuzzify phrases

Query	Results	Explanation
naturalisation	239,057	Stemmed to 'naturalis'
naturalization	14,853,488	Stemmed to 'natur'
text:naturalisation	126,539	No stemming
text:naturalization	23,677	No stemming