Metadata & Databases

In the previous unit of the Digital Humanities Coursebook, I felt extremely comfortable with the concept and depth of data, due to my previous knowledge and experience with what data is. During the metadata unit, I was significantly less comfortable and accustomed to what it is. The textbook provided a great, but lengthy, description of what metadata is, saying, "Metadata performs many functions. Most often, as in the example of 'Get Info' just given, it is descriptive. Metadata can also be administrative, help- ing to organize the data in large sets of records. In addition, it can be operational, giving data a role or task, such as the relation of one file to another... To reiterate, metadata is information used to describe data, objects, or records. Metadata can be attached to objects or records, but it also stands in as a surrogate" (Drucker 52, 53.) Metadata is essentially data about the data, providing as much description about the data as possible. Metadata is a crucial component of all digital projects, and it is certainly present in my project, in the forms of citations and as specifications of what is being displayed. I am certain that metadata will continue to be a looming presence in the projects we create this semester.

I feel that most people who have any knowledge of data also have a grasp of what databases are, and this chapter on them just further elaborated upon my preexisting knowledge. Databases can vary in simplicity and depth, and it further contributes to how vast the field of digital humanities is. The textbook gave an extremely easy-to-grasp description of the differences in databases, saying, "Data can be big without being complex: a massive number of entries in a very simple spread sheet might list all 300 million people in America by age, or, by first name, or by height and weight. Data can be deep without being big: a spreadsheet might contain highly detailed information about a small number of entries—a hundred books and their authors, characters, plots, sentiments, vocabulary, sentence length, editions, page numbers, annotations by multiple readers, materials of production, reception histories, and many other details" (Drucker 70, 71.) Some data is able to be presented on a flat spreadsheet database, while other forms of data may need something a bit more specific for the database. The concept of the range of databases took a lot of brainpower to dissect, but once I grasped it, it all felt completely natural and easy to understand. I know that these concepts apply to my project, as there are multiple data tables and graphic data that connect to one another.


Comments

  1. AnnaSeptember 18, 2022 at 6:05 PM

    I liked your example about data being 'big without being complex.' I think it's a good way to explain how data can be lengthy yet simple at the same time.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jordan RobichaudSeptember 18, 2022 at 9:04 PM

    I love the quote you used about data big big without necessarily being complex. This stuck out to me as well in the reading, and really provided food-for-thought in how big sums of data really can be. It made me think that if it's not complicated, certain data sets must just be truly massive to require their own "base."

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Maps & Virtual Spaces

  I thought it was interesting to learn about the range of complexity that is mapping and GIS, just like digital humanities. It seems that the more qualities of the digital humanities that we learn, the more it helps to break down what the digital humanities are. That being said it is odd that adding complex features of the subject would make it easier to understand. For mapping, it seems to be complex in the way that there are so many ways to layer the information that is to be given. I like that the chapter on the subject in our textbook broke down the different purposes of using maps to relay information.  The text also discusses a virtual exhibit created to recreate Pompeii. This reminded me of when I visited Pompeii, I got to see some of the 3D models that were created to represent its appearance, and I even remember there being a virtual exhibit that broke down the volcano erupting and the pattern (most likely based on evidence gathered) in which it buried the city.  On the googl
Read more

Blog post 2: Data & Digitilzation

  The section on data helps and relates to my project for analysis because now that I have a better understanding of what is is I can find more things to analyse from my site. Data (like digital humanities) is a lot broader of a subject than I initial thought it was. It's not all about the obvious numbers like you'd automatically assume, it can include things like "text, beats in a measure, pixels on a screen, and distances on a map can all be turned into quantitative data," (Drucker, 19). This very helpful as a guide for what to focus on/analyse on my website.  The checklist for creating a data model was very helpful, I like that it breaks down with instructions. Data and digitalisation play a key role in digital humanities by being the large part of what makes it up. They apply to the website I'm analysing especially the digitalisation because my site is composed of a bunch of imported files to journals and projects. These chapters gave a dive into these compone
Read more

What is digital humanities?

  Kaitlin Carroll     When I think of the d igital humanities the first thing that pops into my head is a computer. Whether thats accurate or not it's what pops into my brain. Digital obviously makes me think about electronics, and then following it with humanities make me think of how people interact/express themselves within those electronics. After playing around with the blog and reading some of the Digital Humanities course book, the definition of digital humanities can be interpreted to be combining humanities properties with computational methods. (Drucker, pg 1). The components that Johnna Drucker discussed in her book of digital humanities were most helpful at breaking that subject down for me. In the manifesto, it is explained that it is hard to limit what can be classified as digital humanities because the subject is wide with various allowances of what counts as the category. I like this because then digital humanities is a perfect way to be expressive in a persons own
Read more