Reproducible Research in the Humanities:
The case of English Short-Title Catalogue
(ESTC) Metadata
Mikko Tolonen, Leo Lahti, Maija Paavolainen et al.
University of Helsinki
LIBER 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
Transparency
(data,
methods,
reporting)
Memory
org
Access
and
reuse
Research
team A
Research process
Reproducibility
Repository
Collaboration
Research
team B
Library catalogues: old databases - new use !
?
Understanding
knowledge
production & cultural
transfer
Open
science
DATA
(estc,
fennica…)
!
Quantitative
approach to
qualitative research
Transparent
methodology
(R, Python, ..)
“HISTORY” IN BRITAIN AND NORTH-AMERICA:
The case of ESTC metadata
History Publishing 1470 - 1800
How?
Who?
Where?
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)
Who wrote history?
WHERE WAS
HISTORY
PUBLISHED?
How
did
publish
ing
chang
e 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
Who wrote history?
HOW DID PUBLISHING
OF HISTORY CHANGE
OVER TIME?
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
Publishers of history
Conclusions
Who
wrote
history
?
Reproducible Workflows in humanities for
Research & Education
Transparency
(data, methods,
Collaboration
reporting)
Reproducibility
Data
Management
LIBRARY
Teaching platform
Research outreach
https://github.com/rOpenGov/estc/
http://s1.doria.fi/helmi/mp/nord/fem19990074/
Evropa Orbis Christiani domina 1699 - 1
Scherer, Heinrich Viduae 1703 Scherer, H. : Tabellae geographicae:
Viduae 1703 : Kartta 2 Finnish National Library