By: Lisa Börjesson/CAPTURE Project
Although the mantra of the CAPTURE project staff is that we’re curious about everything that could possibly count as information about data production and management processes, the researchers and professionals we meet have a different interest: What is paradata? And can you tell us how it relates to metadata? Most are less than satisfied with our indeterminate answers which are based on our mapping of the multiple meanings and usages of the term in archaeology and cultural heritage (forthcoming paper): paradata is a useful but also slippery notion that serves an array of purposes. Disappointing as our analytical take on the term may be for the ones who could have used a more clear-cut definition like yesterday, the interest in the term stimulates our continued work.
Some time has passed since CApturing Paradata for documenTing data creation and Use for the REsearch of the future (CAPTURE) was first introduced here at the Digital Humanities Uppsala Blog. Since then, Olle Sköld and Lisa Börjesson have joined the team as researchers. Also, we’re currently recruiting one fully funded Ph.D. student. Plus, in the coming years we’ll be recruiting two postdocs to the project. More on this later on!
In terms of research, two of the project’s larger data collection campaigns are at early stages. Firstly, we’re interviewing both makers and users of research data to better understand the production and use of information that detail data-production processes (‘paradata’) . Tips of possible informants, that is researchers with repeated experiences of depositing data and researchers with experiences of recurring analytical reuse of research data, are warmly welcome. Secondly, we’re designing a survey of paradata practices that will be open for respondents during fall 2020.
Interested in hearing more about our work?
- Isto Huvila will be heading a roundtable on paradata at the Computer Application and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology Conference 2020 14-17 April in Oxford.
- CAPTURE and URDAR will jointly present ongoing research at the Department of ALM’s higher seminar, Tuesday 28 April at 14.15.
- CAPTURE will invite participants to a full day of presentations and discussions about process information in archaeology at Uppsala University Monday April 20th 2020. Please contact us if you’re interested in joining this event!
This project is funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme grant agreement No 818210.