The remainder of your grade will be determined through a semester-long research project. The goal of this project is to expose you to the Computing in the Humanities research process, from planning the project and collecting data to analyzing and communicating your results, and finally reflecting and outlining future directions. You are welcome to work individually or in small groups for this project. Previous example projects include exploring character networks in a set of novels to understand gender disparities, or correlation analysis of place names in historical documents to analyze spatial imaginings.

You are welcome to be as creative and experimental with this project as you like, but your project will have to include the following components:

  • Relevant Topic. You should pick a research question or a topic related to “computing in the humanities” research (that means something involving culture, whether cultural objects, practices, or institutions). You are welcome to set up a meeting or DM with the Instructor via Slack to discuss your proposed topic.
  • Data Driven: You should utilize some form of data that is relevant to your topic. This data does not necessarily need to be big, but it must include some form of hand curated or computationally derived data. We will discuss this requirement more in-depth during class, but broadly this could include everything from digitizing materials and creating a dataset from those scans to combining multiple existing datasets and curating them for your research question to using existing models to create derived metadata or extract additional data. The key thing is that you cannot just use existing data as is. Instead, you must supplement or augment the data in your project, in some way.
  • Scholarly Context: You should connect and situate your project within existing academic research on this topic. While I do not expect you to be an expert in a humanities topic, you should do some initial research to see if others have studied your topic and include at least one citation to this research (whether article, book, or digital project) from beyond our course readings (you can ask the instructors for assistance in identifying relevant material).
  • Digital Methods: You should utilize at least one computational method to study your data, whether drawing from ones we have used in the class or ones that you want to try out. Computational method is very broad here (includes everything from statistical to visual to modeling), but ideally you would undertake some sort of transformation of your data to help you study your topic.
  • Public Scholarship: Finally, you need to document and present your materials online. All code and data (unless under copyright) will need to be documented and shared, and all your results and reflections will be publicly available. We will discuss platforms and options in class.

Initial Project Proposal 5%

DUE FEBRUARY 6, 2024 (Optional Extension to February 13, 2024)

Your initial project proposal should be a combination of outlining your proposed focus for the final project (what are your initial project goals, what are you trying to create or study, and why this topic?), outlining the work you propose to undertake (how will you tackle this project and why have you organized it as such? What methods and data do you plan to use and how will you communicate your results?), and explaining your initial goals of this project in relation to the readings and topics we have discussed in class (what are the scholarly goals of your project and how would you situate your project in relation to research in computing in the humanities? Who are your audiences and what scholarship does your research draw upon and further?).

The proposal should be 2-3 pages double spaced and can contain tables, graphs, bullet points, or any other format that will help you outline the goals and plan for this project. Ultimately, this proposal should lay the groundwork for your project and will serve as your blueprint for the semester.

In our first few weeks, we will be discussing what makes a good topic, and you are also welcome to either schedule a meeting or contact the Instructor to brainstorm possible topics.

Mid-Semester Project Data Update 15%

DUE MARCH 7, 2024 (Optional Extension March 19, 2024)

Once your proposal is approved, you should begin working on your project, following as much as possible your proposed timeline and activities. But to ensure that you don’t either get too overwhelmed or wait until the end of the semester to begin, you will need to complete a mid-semester project update.

This update will consist of two parts. First, you will update your initial project proposal to include a refined research focus and amend any of your proposed timeline activities to reflect any changes you’ve had to make to the project. Most research projects have to pivot at some point, so this update should include any changes you’ve had to make and give you a sense to take stock and assess whether your initial plan is feasible. This section should be of similar length to the original proposal, though you can condense to be shorter, if that makes sense considering your progress. You should be sure to include citations to relevant research and a discussion of how your project fits into the broader field of computing in the humanities.

Second, you will share and document your initial dataset through a brief biography of your dataset and data collection methodologies. You must have at least 50% of your data collection and curation completed for this update. The length of this section is variable, but should include documentation of all the materials in your dataset, details on how you have collected the data, and discussion of the datasets properties, including what aspects of the data are missing or incomplete.

Please remember to include relevant citations to the readings and topics we have discussed in class, and to include a discussion of how your project fits into the broader field of computing in the humanities.

Demo Day Presentation and Peer Review Feedback 5%

DUE APRIL 29 - IN CLASS

Updated assignment

After receiving feedback from the instructors on your project, you will have the remainder of the semester to work on your project. In our last class session, you will be grouped into thematic groups to present your project to your peers. This presentation should be a 10-20 minutes overview of your project, including a brief description of your research question, the data you created or curated, the computational methods you employed, and the results you achieved. You should also include a brief reflection on the process of working on your project, including any challenges you faced, any changes you made to your initial plan, and any future directions you would like to take with your project. Then your peer group will provide feedback on your project, including suggestions for improvement, questions about your methods or results, and any other comments they have.

Final Exploration & Experimental Project Submission 25%

DUE MAY 13, 2024 (Hard Deadline)

The final part of this semester-long project is your final project submission, due at the end of the semester (please note the hard deadline). This submission is the culmination of your explorations and experimentations throughout the course, representing your first forays into the realm of computing in the humanities. While there is no expectation that your final submission will be a polished digital project, your submission should cover all the required elements outlined initially, and demonstrate a well-rounded understanding and application of the course concepts.

In writing and presenting your project, you should focus on two strands:

  • First, providing detailed documentation and explanation of your project. This includes a clear description of your research question, the scholarship that you engaged with, the data you created and transformed, the computational methods you employed, and the results you achieved. Your narrative should effectively convey the project’s journey from conception to its current state
  • Second, and equally important, is the reflective component. Specifically, you should where you deem appropriate reflect on how your ideas and approaches evolved over the semester, how the course materials influenced your project, and what changes you would now implement with your newfound knowledge. You might discuss how the feasibility of your initial proposal evolved, whether the scope of what you managed to achieve matched that proposal or not, and openly discuss any deviations from your original plan. The goal is not to focus on whether you hit every milestone, but rather to articulate how the process of working with data and computing in the humanities has shaped your project and your understanding of the field.

There is no set page limit for this assignment since it will be submitted digitally, but we will discuss more details closer to the final submission date.

You can find an example project here: Example Final Project

Updated: