Log 3: Environmental Scan
This entry in your research log prompts you to start surveying and gathering materials related to your research. For the entry, you should submit the following:
- A small repository of files applicable to your research (these files should correspond with primary sources; no need to worry about secondary sources or related criticism for now);
- A spreadsheet containing metadata for your repository; and
- A brief (150-300 words) explanation of what archives/collections you surveyed, what you found, and what you didn't find.
A few important details:
- Your repo should be contained within and pushed to our English507 repo. I recommend creating a subdirectory (e.g., "sources" or "media") within your dedicated folder (e.g., "sayers") and dumping the content there.
- You can push files in XLS, CSV, and the like to GitHub. Just drop your spreadsheet in the subdirectory (e.g., "sources" or "media") referenced above.
- Avoid large files, including video and audio clips beyond a minute in duration or comprising more than 10% of the original.
- Your spreadsheet will also act as a metadata model. It should follow the guidelines for the Dublin Core Metadata Element Set, Version 1.1. Consider dedicating columns to elements appropriate for your research. Of course, what constitutes an "appropriate element" depends on the project. However, at a minimum, you'll likely want to use "title," "source," "publisher," "type," "format," "description," "date," and "creator."
- You'll submit this entry twice: once on the 27th and again on the 3rd. While the first draft does not need to be complete, it should give all of us in 507 a concrete sense of what you're researching. The 150-300 words should be submitted on the 27th, and they can be revised (after further research) for the 3rd.
- When submitting your revised entry (on the 3rd), you can just edit your 150-300 words, spreadsheet, and repo (e.g., by adding/removing files), and then push the changes/revisions to GitHub. You don't need to submit different files (or the like). After all, Git generates a revision history.
- Your sources do not need to be digital or online. They can be objects you have on hand, even if you do not ultimately digitize them.
- Here are a few domains that might pique your interest: Canadiana, Internet Archive, Digital Public Library of America, Hathi Trust, and Europeana.
- Either before or as you start producing metadata, I recommend perusing Digital Collections at UVic to see how (among other things) they implement Dublin Core. For instance, see this item in the A.A. Brown collection, which was developed by Jana Millar Usiskin during English 507 (Spring 2012).
As you proceed, please don't hesitate to get in touch with questions or concerns. I imagine there are numerous issues and concerns that I either neglected or did not directly address here.