Reproducible Research in the Humanities: The case of English Short-Title Catalogue

(ESTC) Metadata

Mikko Tolonen, Leo Lahti, Maija Paavolainen et al.

University of HelsinkiLIBER 2015

Outline of the talk

• What is “reproducible research” in the context of the humanities?

• How can we study ”history” between 1470-1800 in Britain using library catalogues?

• Who wrote history, where was it published and how did the publishing change over time?

• New methods for humanities education • Conclusions

Research process

Transparency (data, methods, reporting)

Reproducibility

CollaborationAccess and reuse

Research team A

Research team B

Memory org

Repository

Library catalogues: old databases - new use !

DATA (estc, fennica…)

?Understanding

knowledge production & cultural

transfer

!Quantitative approach to

qualitative research

Transparent methodology(R, Python, ..)

Open science

“HISTORY” IN BRITAIN AND NORTH-AMERICA: The case of ESTC metadata

History Publishing 1470 - 1800

Who? Where?

How?

Who wrote history?

Top-authors (title count)

Who wrote history?

Publication timeline for William Prynne, Daniel Defoe, David Hume

(1558–1629) and David Hume (1711-1776)

Who wrote history?

Title count vs. paper consumption (top authors)

WHERE WAS HISTORY PUBLISHED?

Who wrote history?

How did publishing change over time?

Where was history published?

Top publication places (title count; log10).

Where was history published?

Comparing title-count and paper consumption.

Where was history published?

Paper consumption and title count in Ireland, Scotland and USA.

Paper Consumption Title Count

Where was history published?

Development of printing in England, Scotland and Ireland, 1470-1800

file:///home/lei/tmp/video.mp4

HOW DID PUBLISHING OF HISTORY CHANGE OVER TIME?

Who wrote history?

Who were the publishers of history?

How did publishing of history change over time?

History publishing in ESTC (n = 50176 documents).

Title-count

Paper consumption

How did publishing of history change over time?

Average paper consumption per document over time.

How did publishing of history change over time?

Pamphlets vs. books

How did publishing of history change over time?

Annual paper consumption by gatherings

How did publishing of history change over time?

Edmund Burke as the octavo-historian

Conclusions

Publishers of history

Who wrote history?

Reproducible Workflows in humanities for Research & Education

LIBRARYData Management Teaching platform

Research outreach

Transparency

(data, methods,

reporting)

Reproducibility

Collaboration

http://s1.doria.fi/helmi/mp/nord/fem19990074/Evropa Orbis Christiani domina 1699 - 1Scherer, Heinrich Viduae 1703 Scherer, H. : Tabellae geographicae: Viduae 1703 : Kartta 2 Finnish National Library

https://github.com/rOpenGov/estc/