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Coping with all the information in the world while remaining sane

Coping with all the information in the world while remaining sane. Who am I The Internet as a source for academic researchers Research values and the digital age. Dr William Kilbride wgk1@york.ac.uk. ads.ahds.ac.uk. A ims and O bjectives

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Coping with all the information in the world while remaining sane

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  1. Coping with all the information in the world while remaining sane Who am I The Internet as a source for academic researchers Research values and the digital age Dr William Kilbride wgk1@york.ac.uk

  2. ads.ahds.ac.uk Aims and Objectives “To support research learning and teaching with high quality and dependable digital resources.” TheADShosts AHDS Archaeology which is jointly funded by

  3. ads.ahds.ac.uk AHDS Visual arts AHDS Performing arts AHDS Lit Lang Ling AHDS History AHDS Executive ADS AHDS Archaeology Advisory Comm

  4. Chaos and authenticity in the digital age Premise: There is too much information in the world Question: how do you obtain the information you want as a researcher? Answer: trusted data services

  5. ads.ahds.ac.uk The Data Bomb Say you want information about Westerwood, where there is a Roman fort and a stretch of the Antonine wall near Glasgow

  6. ads.ahds.ac.uk The Data Bomb But Google is just matching words. So the answers you get are liable to be: Unreliable Irrelevant Out of date

  7. The Data Bomb • The National Monuments Record of Scotland • The West of Scotland Sites and Monuments Record • The National Museums of Scotland • The Hunterian Museum • The Scottish Cultural Resources Access Network • The National Library of Scotland • Scottish Records Office • The Portable Antiquities Scheme • North Lanarkshire County Council • GUARD • Historic Scotland • Society of Antiquaries of Scotland • Britannia • Journal of Roman Studies • Glasgow Archaeology Society • Et al There are authoritative and up to date sources. They are all online. Provided you know where to look …

  8. NMS NMRS WOSAS SCRAN Etc… (tired and disappointed) Data providers shouting louder and louder about their web sites Even for authoritative sources, you need to join services together manually - as well as learning multiple user interfaces Current services offer mix of discover, access and use functionality You (tired and confused)

  9. NMS NMRS WOSAS SCRAN Etc.. This is a problem for academic and professional research which depends on accuracy consistency comprehensiveness currency So, it’s just not enough to make do with bland internet search engines. If you rely on Google, you will produce poor scholarship and will be found out: Blair T 2003 Weapons of Mass Destruction

  10. ads.ahds.ac.uk But the good news … Doing serial searches like this is boring and unnecessary What we need are trusted portal services …

  11. Introducing … ArchSearch http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/ Featuring … ArchWay CBA Research Reports PSAS Defence of Britain Archway Spitalfields Archive The Excavation Index Canmore And many many more

  12. Academic values and the digital age Academic values are hard won: slow to change Perhaps they should not change at all Collecting and integrating material is easy: no more gazetteers, hand lists etc… Checking references is a lot harder Prizes for critical analysis and nuanced integration of data Quality measures: precision, accuracy and confidence Much more currency: need to react quickly Preservation

  13. Bland conclusions: These are exciting times for scholarship Information brokers vs search engines 3rd party recommendations JISC data services are services so make them work for you Dr William Kilbride wgk1@york.ac.uk ads.ahds.ac.uk

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