This document discusses common issues with digital humanities project proposals and how to avoid them. It notes that many past projects funded by Mellon are now lost without a trace because they did not plan for long-term sustainability after the initial funding. The document advises discussing projects with librarians and technologists to ensure proper planning, standards and preservation of the work. It also warns against assuming new projects need to completely reinvent existing tools and standards. The goal should be responsible planning to allow the work to remain available and useful to others.

1. BAD(Digital)
Humanities Proposal
(and how to avoid it)
The
Canonically

2. Background photo: “bamboo maze,” Jun AOYAMA, http://www.flickr.com/photos/jam343/2560663/, CC-BY
Hey, Mellon.
Why don’t you
have a website
linking to all the
digital projects
you’ve funded?
Chris Mackie

3. Background photo: “bamboo maze,” Jun AOYAMA, http://www.flickr.com/photos/jam343/2560663/, CC-BY
We can’t.
Almost all of
them are gone
without a trace.
Chris Mackie

4. WHY
might that be?

5. Background photo: “bamboo maze,” Jun AOYAMA, http://www.flickr.com/photos/jam343/2560663/, CC-BY
No planning for
post-Mellon
existence.
No discussion
with librarians or
technologists.
Chris Mackie

6. BAD(Digital)
Humanities Proposal
The
Canonically

7. Photo: “book shelf project 2 ~ striatic {notes},” hobvias sudoneighm, http://www.flickr.com/photos/striatic/730978/, CC-BY
Hey, Mellon.
We’ve got stuff!
Stuff somebody
cares about. Somewhere.

8. that we
want to
Photo: “of an evening,” Bill Tozier, http://www.flickr.com/photos/vaguery/3498219743/, CC-BY

9. We want it
to be
Photo: “Open,” John Martinez Pavliga, http://www.flickr.com/photos/virtualsugar/316200555/, CC-BY

10. except
is some kind of
commie plot
Photo: “Open,” John Martinez Pavliga, http://www.flickr.com/photos/virtualsugar/316200555/, CC-BY

11. but we hear
you like that kind
of thing, so...
Photo: “Open,” John Martinez Pavliga, http://www.flickr.com/photos/virtualsugar/316200555/, CC-BY

12. We’ll do this a
whole new way!
Because every
wheel needs
reinventing!
Photo: “Black Opel / Vauxhall Astra G Tuning by WillVision,” WillVision Photography, http://
www.flickr.com/photos/willvision/2108844874/, CC-BY

13. So fork it over,
Mellon!
Photo: “Money Hand Holding Bankroll Girls February 08, 20117,” Steven Depolo, http://
www.flickr.com/photos/10506540@N07/5437288053/, CC-BY

14. WHAT’S
wrong
with this picture?

15. Tales of Terror!
• I will pass out stories about poor data management.
• Videos on DHWI wiki: http://mith.umd.edu/dhwiwiki/
• Your job: WHAT WENT WRONG?
• Assess and report out (4 minutes max):
• What are/were the data at issue?
• What went wrong (or could go wrong) with the data-handling?
• What are the consequences of the poor data-handling to the research? The
researcher?
• Could this problem have been avoided? How?
• What kind(s) of humanist research could this problem happen to?
• More horror stories
• http://pinboard.in/u:dsalo/t:horrorstories