LSWT2019 Talk by Prof. Dr. Thomas Riechert, Institut für Informatik/HTWK Leipzig

1. Agenda Digital Humanities Research Project Methodology Research ontology Future Work
Semantic Web in the Digital Humanities
Developing a domain specific research ontology for
research using distributed databases on the web
Thomas Riechert1, Edgard Marx1 and Jennifer Blanke2
1AKSW Research Group, HTWK Leipzig and 2Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel
Leipzig Semantic Web Day, 22.05.2019
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2. Agenda Digital Humanities Research Project Methodology Research ontology Future Work
Agenda
(1) Digital Humanities
(2) Research project on Early Modern Professorial Career Patterns
(3) Methodology
(4) Research Ontology
(5) Perspective
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3. Agenda Digital Humanities Research Project Methodology Research ontology Future Work
Digital Humanities
„What does the research field of Digital Humanities comprise?“
Digital
Use of information systems and information technologies e.g. text
systems, databases, decision support systems, 3D-scan, virtual reality
...
Humanities
Comprises about 40 different disciplines, which investigate with
different methods in research areas like History, Linguistics and
languages, Law and politics, Literature, Religion, ...
Development towards the Digital Humanities
Available knowledge services provided by libraries
Web of Data
...
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4. Agenda Digital Humanities Research Project Methodology Research ontology Future Work
Challenges for Digital Humanities
The use of information technologies within the humanities currently
primarily supports the documentation and discussion of research
processes and results.
New opportunities for the humanities, such as:
Formal representation
Parallel work on the same research topics
Reuse of research data
Challenges:
No established methodologies for research on data repositories
comparing to research in archives and libraries
Reuse of „unpublished“ data or inferred facts
Expertise in computer science and information science is necessary
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5. Agenda Digital Humanities Research Project Methodology Research ontology Future Work
Current Research Project
Early Modern Professorial Career Patterns – Methodological research on
online databases of academic history
→ https://pcp-on-web.htwk-leipzig.de
Network of German Professor Catalogs
Leipzig University, Catalogus Professorum Lipsiensium
http://catalogus-professorum.org/
Herzog August Library Wolfenbüttel, Helmstedt Professors Catalogue
University of Bamberg, Bamberger Professorinnen- und
Professorenkatalog
University of Kiel, Kieler Gelehrtenverzeichnis
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6. Agenda Digital Humanities Research Project Methodology Research ontology Future Work
Catalogus Professorum Lipsiensium
→ https://research.uni-leipzig.de/catalogus-professorum-lipsiensium/
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7. Agenda Digital Humanities Research Project Methodology Research ontology Future Work
Helmstedt Professors Catalog
→ http://uni-helmstedt.hab.de
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8. Agenda Digital Humanities Research Project Methodology Research ontology Future Work
Objectives of the partner network
Objectives
Publication of the research catalogs in the Linked Open Data Web
Linking of objects within the catalogs
Collaborative research on similar resources
Further research on the catalogs of the network
Current discussions
Tools and infrastructures
Vocabularies
Research Methodologies
Requirements for digital research infrastructures
Based on an accepted research model
Use of standards
Have to be extensible and modular
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9. Agenda Digital Humanities Research Project Methodology Research ontology Future Work
Research question
Early Modern Professorial Career Patterns
Research and linking of research databases
Professor catalogues
Enrolment or students catalogues
Maps, Geo-Data
Publications, scholarly journals, ....
Relevant criteria for answering the research question:
Basics: name, birth and death dates, places the prof lived and worked
origin (family, social status, geographical origin)
denomination
education or educational CV (schools, faculties, chairs)
academic degrees
academic and non academic offices
social entanglements and networks
academic collections
academic capital (prestige)
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10. Agenda Digital Humanities Research Project Methodology Research ontology Future Work
Methodology – Heloise Common Research Model
The Heloise Common Research Model was discussed and proposed in
October 2015 by the Heloise Consortium on Academic History.
Service based approach, to apply the use of knowlege bases
Layer based model
BERETTA, F., RIECHERT, T.. Collaborative Research on Academic History using Linked Open Data: A Proposal for the Heloise Common
Research Model. CIAN-Revista de Historia de las Universidades, Norteamérica, 19, jun. 2016.
http://e-revistas.uc3m.es/index.php/CIAN/article/view/3147.
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11. Agenda Digital Humanities Research Project Methodology Research ontology Future Work
HCRM - Repository Layer
Repository Layer
Professors Catalogues Databases External Databases
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12. Agenda Digital Humanities Research Project Methodology Research ontology Future Work
HCRM - Application Layer
1560 1570 1580 1590 1600 1610 1620 1630 1640 1650 1660 1670 1680
BNF, GND, ISNI,
Geonames, …
symogih.org
ontology
Heloise Network
Thesaurus
CIDOC- CRM,
BIO, ...
Data conversion and mapping
Repository Layer
Application Layer
Project Search
Engine
Data for History
Profile
Project Triple
Cache
Project Historical
Maps
Professors Catalogues Databases External Databases
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13. Agenda Digital Humanities Research Project Methodology Research ontology Future Work
HCRM - Research Interface Layer
1560 1570 1580 1590 1600 1610 1620 1630 1640 1650 1660 1670 1680
BNF, GND, ISNI,
Geonames, …
symogih.org
ontology
Heloise Network
Thesaurus
CIDOC- CRM,
BIO, ...
Data conversion and mapping
Repository Layer
Application Layer
Research Interface Layer
Project Thesaurus
Data for History Consortium
Specific Research Results Cache
Research Community Space
Research Methods and Toolbox
Specific Research Triple Cache
Project Search
Engine
Data for History
Profile
Project Triple
Cache
Project Historical
Maps
Professors Catalogues Databases External Databases
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14. Agenda Digital Humanities Research Project Methodology Research ontology Future Work
Development of a research ontology
Modelling of relevant concepts in the form of classes, relationships
and attributes from the point of view of the research question in the
form of a research vocabulary.
Import, integration or alignment of relevant facts to the research
vocabulary.
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15. Agenda Digital Humanities Research Project Methodology Research ontology Future Work
Classical ways of modelling vocabularies
From the general model to the specific application
Usually starting from the graph and tables
using a visual Editor
From the use case (object) to the general model
Usually starting text or forms
using a form editor
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16. Agenda Digital Humanities Research Project Methodology Research ontology Future Work
Modelling concepts of existing knowledgebases
(1) Making the data available as RDF database (Triple-Store)
(2) Exploration of the database through relevant natural language
queries (historical studies)
(3) Conversion of queries as SPARQL query (computer science)
(4) Documentation of the request pairs
(5) Extraction of relevant concepts from the formal SPARQL
representation
First results in the project:
First steps on development of a research vocabulary
Description of relevant prosopographical concepts
Integration of data from two professor catalogues
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17. Agenda Digital Humanities Research Project Methodology Research ontology Future Work
Future Work - Historical sciences
In the context of the historical sciences and library services
Simplify the exploration of unknown databases by aligning to Data
publishing standards
Domain independent standards (e.g. Dublin Core)
Domain specific standards (e.g. CIDOC CRM, Data for History
http://dataforhistory.org/)
Quantitative measurement methods (number of facts, concepts, ...)
Qualitative measurement methods (similar resources, missing
concepts, contradictions)
Traceability of the source of a fact
e.g. documentation of the research process
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18. Agenda Digital Humanities Research Project Methodology Research ontology Future Work
Future Work – Computer Science
In the context of computer sciences and library services
Documentation and publishing research results using tools or tool
chains
Domain specific tools
Implementing incremental and iterative methodologies
Interchangeability between cloud services and specific implemented
applications
Easy maintenance, etc. with container virtualization (Docker)
Establishing research infrastructures in libraries, data centers,
CLARIAH, DFN-Cloud, European Science Cloud
Additional motivation
Relevant open and comparable data for applying research results in
computer science (benchmarks)
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19. Agenda Digital Humanities Research Project Methodology Research ontology Future Work
Thank you for your attention!
Thomas Riechert
Hochschule für Technik, Wirtschaft und Kultur; Leipzig University of
Applied Science, Germany
→ https://pcp-on-web.htwk-leipzig.de
→ http://aksw.org
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