Post-Analysis Musings

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Data management is essential and was the foundation of the entire project. Without proper documentation of data collection and processing methods, we could not be confident in our results, as preliminary as these results may be at this point. We had to constantly keep our eye on the data to avoid errors that might skew our findings. 

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This project is an experiment, and it came with many false starts. We created dashboards and timelines that were ultimately scrapped, and what remains on this website may also end up transformed as we continue to refine our methods and build understanding of DH tools.

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Ideas for the Future
 

We are sincerely intrigued by using DH tools for collection assessment in libraries. Text analysis provides an opportunity for qualitative analysis of collections that help us understand the nature and nuance of the materials we own, not just the numbers of titles, the usage, or the costs. Used together with traditional analysis, DH tools could be used effectively especially for analysis of interdisciplinary topics that cross many disciplines and call number ranges. 

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In addition, we see potential in using these methods as an alternative to browsing. An interactive dashboard  is a window into a collection that can be shared and explored by new faculty, new liaison libraries, and researchers who want to understand the scope of research in a particular area. While we focused on print books, there is great potential to expand. 

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