JOHD data paper gives more context to digitised war letters collection in DANS Data Station SSH
A new data paper in a special collection of the Journal of Open Humanities Data (JOHD) has been published. The article by Carlijn Keijzer (NIOD) and Milan van Lange (NIOD) is entitled ‘Dutch War Letters (1935–1950) to Digital Data’ and discusses a dataset published in the DANS Data Station SSH in 2023.
The dataset was a collaboration between archivists, historians, students, and citizen scientists. It encompasses (semi-)automated transcriptions and metadata of handwritten personal correspondences from the German Occupation of the Netherlands and the Indonesian War of Independence. A previous article in the E-data & Research by the same authors, has presented some interesting background to the project, including some of the challenges that were faced during the process of automated transcription – and how they were remedied using crowdsourcing.
160.000 physical documents
In this new data paper, we read about the method for preparing the ‘First-Hand Accounts of War’ dataset, from the process for scanning over 160,000 physical documents, to the preparation of the metadata, to the team’s processes for quality control. The authors have provided a dataset description and an explanation of what they envisage to be its reuse potential. Alongside this contextual information, they present a vibrant collage of some of the rich contents of the dataset, which is shown below:
Image from the data paper, which the authors explain: ‘displays the diversity and non-elite nature of the collection of wartime letters.’ See: https://openhumanitiesdata.metajnl.com/articles/10.5334/johd.259
To find out more about the ‘First-Hand Accounts of War’ dataset, visit the DANS Data Station SSH at: https://doi.org/10.17026/SS/UUVUW2. Due to the sensitivity of the data, it has been published under our bespoke DANS Licence for restricted access data (.pdf), meaning that permission must be sought from the NIOD’s data steward to access the full text transcription of the letters. The metadata and documentation is published openly.
Gathered, managed, and prepared
A data paper makes other researchers aware of data that has been published and allows a researcher to give further context to their data and the way it has been generated or gathered; managed; and prepared for sharing. JOHD publishes a range of data papers related to humanities data, which as its Editor in Chief Dr Barbara McGillivray has argued in a 2024 presentation should be considered a key component of scholarly publishing.
A wide range of articles have already been published in the special collection, ‘Amplifying GLAM Collections: Scalable and Inclusive Data Practices’, which is co-edited by DANS Data Management Specialist Dr Deborah Thorpe. The collection focuses on GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives, and museums) collections as data. The collection aims to showcase innovative approaches and practical solutions to support information professionals in GLAM institutions of any size in enhancing the organisation and accessibility of their collections as data. More articles are forthcoming, so watch this space!
If you are interested to learn more about publishing data in our Data Stations you can visit our Depositing Manual or you can ask your question directly during our weekly Open Hour.
