Reinventing research? Information practices in the humanities

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Reinventing research? Information practices in the humanities

In the modern technological world, all researchers, regardless of specific discipline, are required to have a fairly extensive level of computer literacy to maintain relevance. This relatively new demand has sparked the interest of The Research Information Network, which, along with the authors of the study Reinventing research? Information practices in the humanities, created an extensive report detailing the use of digital resources within the field of humanities (Bulger, et al., 2011). Although their findings are self-evident, they are still important to note, and the findings will hopefully direct the research behavior of historians in the future.

Professionals within the humanities often cite that the main draws for the use of digital archives are: convenience, accessibility, ease of use, and speed.  These advantages are implicit, for given a digital archive which makes research faster, more convenient, and comprehensive, researchers will use it (Bulger, et al., 2011).  The authors, therefore, did not uncover anything fundamentally groundbreaking in their analysis of the motivations behind the use of digital archives in their report. A quick survey of anyone who has used digital resources, including professionals and laypeople alike, would have net similar findings.

Where the authors may have actually shed some new light is on the barriers to use of digital archives.  These obstacles include lack of time, training, and methods of citation. Researchers within the humanities, more so than in other scientific fields, may have more non-research related tasks that preempt research.  Wherein research is often done in bursts, rather than in continuous research (Bulger, et al., 2011).  This singular issue dictates that those within the humanities specifically need a systematic method in which to use for source acquisition and organization.

Building upon the aforementioned issue regarding time management is the lack of training in the use of digital resources and organizational tools.  This is one instance where many humanities departments and researchers are behind.  Many research methods within the humanities were established before the use of technological aids, and established researchers may lack the knowledge and ability to teach young researchers these newly relevant skills.  A shift to an interdisciplinary approach within the humanities will allow future researchers to take advantage of information sciences, thus ensuring and enabling best practices to be established early on in their academic and career experiences.

The last barrier to use, which is probably the most systematic and difficult to remedy, is the lack of universal citation practices. The authors of the report additionally highlighted that the practice of citing the physical text was an issue with tracking the use of digital archives, as well (Bulger, et al., 2011).  The tracking issue is merely a symptom of a larger problem, i. e. the lack of standardization across digital archives.  The ever-evolving nature of technology means that not only are digital archive methods often changing, but also the addresses of digital locations, as well.

It is difficult to create a feasible solution to this complex dilemma.  Perhaps that is why the authors of the report do not provide any concrete solutions to implement in order to remedy this issue.  With digital resources spanning multiple countries, materials, methods, and time of creation, the current state of digital archives is fairly transitional and chaotic. As long as these problems continue to exist, researchers will continue to cite stable, physical resources within their published work.

Notwithstanding all the issues fleshed out above regarding the employment of digital resources, databases like The Old Bailey exemplify the vast potential of digital archives and digital history.  The Old Bailey is a clear illustration of how wealth of content and ease of use can act as driving factors for the use of digital archives. A simple web app, featuring aspects such as a keyword search, enhance accessibility, while also streamlining research, allowing for the reduction of time waste.  Pinpoint style search tends to limit serendipitous findings, but cutting down research time (potentially by years) would therein free up researchers to formulate and delve into more lines of questioning (Bulger, et al., 2011).

The assigned report mainly focuses on digitizing physically-born resources, as this covers more material relevant to historians, but the use of digitally-born sources will continually become more important. These resources lack the issues that accompany digitization, but they may require an even deeper knowledge base in information sciences.  Much of our modern history either only exists in digital formats or, at the very least, was born there. As society becomes progressively digital, historians will be faced with the task of keeping pace with technology.

The saving grace for the humanities is interdisciplinary programs, like Euromachs, which are not afraid to think outside the box and risk being labeled something other than a conventional history programs.  Those individuals who ensure their high-level of cross-disciplinary skills will be responsible for the survival and relevance of many of the fields within the humanities.  The time of long-bearded, wizard-esque solitary researchers toiling away in the stacks and writing lengthy tomes on topics no one is interested in, written in a way that many can’t understand, is coming to an end.  There will always be a place, however, for lengthy, archaic, and independent research with the humanities, but well-rounded, tech-savvy, and collaboratively-minded researchers will inherit the field.  

References:

Bulger, M.E. et al., 2011. Reinventing Research? Information Practices in the Humanities. SSRN Electronic Journal. Available at: https://moodle.utu.fi/pluginfile.php/286694/mod_resource/content/1/humanities_case_studies_for_screen_2.pdf [Accessed October 1, 2016].

The Proceedings of the Old Bailey. Old Bailey Online. Available at: https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/ [Accessed October 1, 2016].