Metadata, reuse and interdisciplinary research
Professor Anna Näslund Dahlgren, Stockholms University
Link to project: metadataculture.se
Contact: anna.dahlgren@arthistory.su.se
Public participation through crowdsourcing is today increasingly used by cultural heritage institutions to solve the problem with lack of metadata for digitalized images. However few raise the question of quality and relevance of such metadata efforts for the human science community. Furthermore, there are no corresponding methods or mechanisms to take advantage of the special expertise researchers develop when exploring the archives, or to connect researchers from different disciplines. The overall purpose of this project is therefore to strengthen participatory and interdisciplinary research practices with the further aim of developing the production of metadata in our visual heritage. The project first investigates and develop methods for obtaining qualified and extensive metadata for images in digitalized cultural heritage collections. Second it sets out to outline participatory methodologies for open and linked metadata practices in an interdisciplinary research community. In short this project will delineate methods used in crowdsourcing and transpose these to academic communities. Open and participatory data create a way to link the researchers’ collections (new metadata) to existing collections, while also connecting different researchers.
