Orientation workshop for historical research projects using geographical data and GIS technology

In the recent decade GIS technology has become a major field of investment across historical disciplines. In the field of cartographic history, projects around globe such as China historical Geographic Information Systems (CHGIS), the United States National Historical GIS (NHGIS) and Great Britain HGIS have built up databases of places and historical administrative units in history working with both early or modern maps, and digital images. Such historical mappings in a first step created a digital version of maps that continue to act in their historical role as "graphic representations that facilitate a spatial understanding of things, concepts, conditions, processes or events in the human world" (Harley and Woodward 1987). As data are amassed, and project visionaries devise unique possibilities of organizing data in their geo-spatial relation. Scholars, however, ask historical GIS projects to do more: to bring together texts and landscapes, objects and procedural data in ways that allow qualitative insights beyond the possibilities of paper methods and visions of the mind. While basic challenges still need to be met, others already envision historical GIS platforms as an organic tool for the combination of research and publication.

This workshop brings together several projects working with GIS technology or geo-related data with the aim to discuss challenges and opportunities of collaborating across disciplinary boundaries. Contributors are invited to delineate the research questions that are addressed in the project, highlighting the differences in approach and the tools and services in use at the moment. Questions to be discussed are

1) Are there any new research questions that can be found or answered with GIS methods vs. Can explication of existing knowledge in the discipline be facilitated by new forms of visualization?

2) How to achieve cooperation between employees/group members (and external projects) with different skill sets. How is data gathered, in particular how is external data integrated and evaluated?

3) In which area do tools and standards require the most urgent improvement/update to enable the targets of the project to be met?

4) How are location and time visualized? How are uncertain and time-dependent data described in the project? What role do such considerations play in achieving the project objectives?

5) Access: How are the data of the project accessible? In what formats/standards are they available? Remote access vs. download? If download, can we obtain permanent archival rights?

6) Usage: How can the data be used/re-used/re-published? The MPG is an Open Access organization, therefore re-publication will need permission to re-use the data or parts of it in similar ways (e.g. license cc-by-sa)

7) Sustainability: Are the data of the project permanently curated? How long and where will they be maintained? Is there a long-term archiving solution?

Diskussionsteilnehmer