oxford university computing services research information management organising humanities material
TRANSCRIPT
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Oxford University Computing Services
Research Information Management
Organising Humanities Material
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You should have...
▪ A copy of the course handbook▫ Includes more information about the topics
covered in this presentation ▫ Plus step-by-step instructions for the
exercises
▪ Access to the exercise files
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Information management
▪ How you organise all the source material, notes, and other documents that relate to your research
▪ Covers both paper and electronic material
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Key principles
▪ There’s no single right way to do it
▪ Organisation is a means to efficient research, not an end in itself
▪ If the system does what you need it to, it’s a good system
▪ Strike the balance between doing too much and too little
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Key principles
▪ We need to be honest with ourselves about what’s working and what isn’t
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“But I know where everything is!”
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Key principles
▪ But there’s no need to feel guilty for not living up to some perceived ‘gold standard’ of organisation
▪ Clear desks and empty inboxes work for some people, but not for all
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The dinosaur in the cupboard
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Be realistic
▪ The aim is to get the best results for as little work as possible
▪ If your system is too complicated, you may end up with a backlog▫ Try using loose categories▫ Have a ‘holding pen’ for incoming material▫ Can you reduce the quantity of incoming
material?
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Finding the time
▪ Common problems:▫ There aren’t enough hours in the day▫ It doesn’t feel like real research▫ It’s dull!
▪ Possible solutions▫ A shift in attitude: not research, but an
investment that makes research easier▫ Making use of pockets of dead time
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Motivational strategies
▪ Chore Wars: http://www.chorewars.com/
▪ If all else fails, try bribery
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It pays to plan ahead
▪ Some extra work when you collect material may prevent a lot of future hassle
▪ Good questions to ask yourself include:▫ What will I use this for? ▫ What do I need to do to ensure I can
retrieve this?
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And when you’ve retrieved it...
▪ Will it be clear what the source was?
▪ Will it be clear what it means?
▪ Is there a clear record of what I’ve done to the information?
▪ Does my funding body have any requirements about sharing data?
▪ Will other researchers be able to make sense of it?
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Data management planning
▪ For bigger projects, a formal data management plan may be needed▫ Required by some funding bodies
▪ See the University of Oxford’s Research Data Management website: http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/rdm/
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Other aims of organisation
▪ Reminding▫ Items serve as a prompt to do something▫ Sub-folders can act as a task list
▪ Representing▫ Folder structure reflects information
structure
▪ Connecting▫ Links between similar items are highlighted
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Retrieval methods
▪ Location-based finding
▪ Using a search function
▪ Most of us default to location-based finding
▪ For electronic information, searching may be a better option▫ This has an impact on how we organise our
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Small group discussion
▪ What sort of material do you work with?
▪ What organisational challenges have you faced?
▪ What tools or techniques work for you?
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Organising paper material
▪ Are you a vertical or a horizontal organiser?▫ Terms coined by philosopher John Perry▫ Vertical organisers like things neatly filed
away▫ Horizontal organisers like lots of information
spread out
▪ Don’t force yourself into the wrong mould
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Tips for horizontal organisers
▪ Maximise your working space
▪ Create different zones on your desk
▪ Keep the quantity of information manageable
▪ Experiment with other forms of reminder
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Tools for horizontal organisers
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Tools for horizontal organisers
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Tips for vertical organisers
▪ Make the process of filing as quick and easy as possible▫ Clear labels and colour coding can help
▪ Distinguish short-term and long-term information
▪ Don’t panic if you can’t keep on top of the filing▫ But do consider streamlining
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Tips for everyone
▪ Think about how your work space is laid out▫ Where’s your recycling bin?
▪ Be disciplined about getting rid of what’s no longer useful
▪ Make sure everything has a place to live
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Organising electronic material
▪ Two main types of system:
▪ Hierarchical▫ Items organised in folders and sub-
folders
▪ Tag-based▫ Each item assigned one or more tags
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Benefits of hierarchical systems
▪ Familiar and widely used
▪ Good at representing the structure of information▫ Constructing the hierarchy can itself be a
helpful exercise
▪ Similar items are stored together
▪ Sub-folders can function as task lists
▪ Great for location-based finding24
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Drawbacks of hierarchical systems
▪ Surprisingly hard work to set up and maintain – ‘a heavyweight cognitive activity’
▪ Can be hard to get the right balance between breadth and depth
▪ Items can only go in one place
▪ Time consuming to reorganise if the hierarchy becomes out of date
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Benefits of tag-based systems
▪ Items can go in more than one category▫ Moreover, multiple types of category can be
used
▪ Many people find tagging quicker and easier than hierarchical filing
▪ When collaborating, can be easier to combine than hierarchical systems
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Drawbacks of tag-based systems
▪ Not how operating systems store files
▪ If material isn’t tagged properly when first acquired, it can be hard to find later
▪ There’s a risk of inconsistent tagging
▪ And of similarly named categories getting mixed
▪ Less good at representing the structure of information
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Managing a hierarchical system
▪ In Windows, Windows Explorer is the best tool
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Creating a tag-based system
▪ Possible tools include:
▪ Bibliographic software▫ EndNote, RefWorks, Mendeley...
▪ Image management programs▫ Flickr, Picasa...
▪ Gmail▫ Designed for email, but can be used to
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Compare and contrast
▪ Open the Exercise 3 folder on your computer
▪ Work through the tasks in Exercise 3
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Small group discussion
▪ What sort of structure(s) do you currently use?
▪ What do you see as the key advantages and disadvantages of the different types of system?
▪ Are there specific tasks one sort of system seems particularly suitable for?
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Tips for making a hierarchical system work
▪ If possible, avoid overlapping categories▫ Find other ways of linking items
▪ Don’t let your folders get too big – or your structure get too deep▫ Create archive folders for older
material
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Shortcuts
▪ Shortcuts allow you to open a file from multiple places▫ Recognisable by the small curved arrow in
the corner of the icon
▪ Use to place in more than one category
▪ Use for frequently accessed items
▪ Use to create project folders
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File names
▪ Make them concise, but meaningful
▪ Think about what comes at the beginning of the name▫ So related items are grouped together
▪ Order files or folders by starting the name with a number
▪ Or push one file to the top using an underscore ( _ )
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Adding searchable keywords
▪ Each file has a set of properties – information about the file itself
▪ View by right-clicking on the icon, then select Properties
▪ The summary tab includes a keywords field
▪ Terms entered here will be found by the Windows search function
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Linking notes and sources
▪ Add hyperlinks to files elsewhere on your computer▫ Bookmarks can be used to link to a
specific place in a file
▪ Or use bibliographic software to store both notes and source material
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Useful software tools
▪ OneNote
▪ Planz
▪ NVivo
▪ Scrivener
▪ A.nnotate
▪ Diigo
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Working with images
▪ To do it properly, use a database▫ FileMaker Pro, Access...▫ DaaS (Database as a Service) – coming in
2011
▪ To store basic information, Flickr or Picasa may be sufficient
▪ Other options include bibliographic software, or even a Word table
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Useful websites and services
▪ Research Skills Toolkit▫ http://www.skillstoolkit.ox.ac.uk/
▪ Research Data Management website▫ http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/rdm/
▪ InfoDev▫ http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/infodev/
▪ HFS back up service▫ http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/hfs/
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Have a go!
▪ Work through some or all of Exercises 5 to 9
▪ Explore some of the tools listed in Exercise 10
▪ If you’d like to learn more, look at the ITLP courses list
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