Guides

If you would like to learn more about what Digital Humanities is, and how and why you might engage with it, then this guide is for you. It covers:

• What is Digital Humanities (DH)?
• How might you engage with DH?
• Why might you engage with DH?
• What are some principles of DH research?
• What are some next steps you could take?

If you are a researcher working with physical collections, there are ways in which you can engage digitally in your research. Collections and Digital Humanities skills can overlap, enabling you to view your sources in exciting ways that cannot be achieved through traditional methods of analysis.

This resource acts a starting point for you to gain an understanding of how you can engage with Digital Humanities in your research. It contains areas which will help you to develop the questions that you might have when approaching the Digital Humanities Hub team and/or Special Collections.

All research involves working with data, whether as objects of study and analysis, or as products of the research process.

Research data management (RDM) encompasses the collection, management, preservation and sharing of research data. It includes planning for data management at the research development and grant application stage, managing data on a day-to-day basis during the project, and preserving and sharing data on completion of the research and publication of findings.

This guide provides a brief introduction to the essentials of data management for DH research.

The digital humanities planning tool can be used when developing research projects that involve the use of digital methods and the production of digital outputs. It is important to consider and clarify technical, legal and ethical requirements at an early stage of project planning, as how you propose to address these may affect the viability, quality and cost of a proposal, and will determine who needs to be involved in the project. Your Research Development Manager may use this tool as a basis for discussing the digital component of a proposal.

This planning tool can help you to:

• Identify and cost in technical requirements (e.g. computing resources and technical skills) for your DH project
• Consider your project’s legal and ethical implications (e.g. those relating to copyright and the use of personal and confidential information)
• Identify areas where further discussion and advice may be required

The tool can inform the planning of a funding application, and will facilitate completion of the data management plan if one is required by the funder.