Using Digital Sources
Full course description
In this skills course, you are trained to use (digital) primary sources in a critical and responsible way. Building on period 3 course ‘What is research?’, we will explore how digitization changes how we find, select, and use primary sources. We also consider their potential and limitations by practicing ‘source criticism’--an approach to assess a source’s reliability, background and perspective. Working on topics that are central to the parallel content course, ‘ICT Revolutions’ (namely, the so-called “Computer Revolution”), this skills course focuses on three types of primary digital material: text, structured (numerical) data, and audio-visual material. Through hands-on, in-class assignments, you will learn to find, select, evaluate and interpret your own primary source material, which is an essential part of any academic analysis. The course will make extensive use of resources and databases offered by the University Library.
Course objectives
By the end of the course you will be able to:
- Define and describe key concepts relevant to (digital) source criticism and interpretation.
- Identify relevant digital source types and collections, and assess their potential and limitations.
- Prepare various data sources for analysis and perform basic analyses with dedicated software such as Atlas.ti.
- Develop and argument insights on the relationship between social change and digitalisation based on source evidence and analysis.
Prerequisites
none
Recommended reading
Owens, T., Padilla, T. (2020). Digital sources and digital archives: historical evidence in the digital age. International Journal of Digital Humanities. DOI:10.1007/s42803-020-00028-7