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Article
Publication date: 3 October 2023

Haklae Kim

Despite ongoing research into archival metadata standards, digital archives are unable to effectively represent records in their appropriate contexts. This study aims to propose a…

Abstract

Purpose

Despite ongoing research into archival metadata standards, digital archives are unable to effectively represent records in their appropriate contexts. This study aims to propose a knowledge graph that depicts the diverse relationships between heterogeneous digital archive entities.

Design/methodology/approach

This study introduces and describes a method for applying knowledge graphs to digital archives in a step-by-step manner. It examines archival metadata standards, such as Records in Context Ontology (RiC-O), for characterising digital records; explains the process of data refinement, enrichment and reconciliation with examples; and demonstrates the use of knowledge graphs constructed using semantic queries.

Findings

This study introduced the 97imf.kr archive as a knowledge graph, enabling meaningful exploration of relationships within the archive’s records. This approach facilitated comprehensive record descriptions about different record entities. Applying archival ontologies with general-purpose vocabularies to digital records was advised to enhance metadata coherence and semantic search.

Originality/value

Most digital archives serviced in Korea are limited in the proper use of archival metadata standards. The contribution of this study is to propose a practical application of knowledge graph technology for linking and exploring digital records. This study details the process of collecting raw data on archives, data preprocessing and data enrichment, and demonstrates how to build a knowledge graph connected to external data. In particular, the knowledge graph of RiC-O vocabulary, Wikidata and Schema.org vocabulary and the semantic query using it can be applied to supplement keyword search in conventional digital archives.

Details

The Electronic Library , vol. 42 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-0473

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 December 2023

Sofia Martynovich

The interpretation of any emerging form or period in art history was never a trivial task. However, in the case of digital art, technology, becoming an integral part, multiplied…

Abstract

Purpose

The interpretation of any emerging form or period in art history was never a trivial task. However, in the case of digital art, technology, becoming an integral part, multiplied the complexity of describing, systematizing and evaluating it. This article investigates the most common metadata standards for the documentation of art as a broad category and suggests possible next steps toward an extended metadata standard for digital art.

Design/methodology/approach

Describing several techno-cultural phenomena formed in the last decade, manifesting the extendibility of digital art (its ability to be easily extended across multiple modalities), the article, at first, points to the long overdue need to re-evaluate the standards around it. Then it suggests a deeper analysis through a comparative study. In the scope of the study three artworks, The Arnolfini Portrait (Jan van Eyck), an iconic example of the early Renaissance, The World's First Collaborative Sentence (Douglas Davis), a classic example of early Internet art and Fake It Till You Make It (Maya Man), a prominent example of the blockchain art, are examined following the structure of the VRA Core 4.0 standard.

Findings

The comparative study demonstrates that digital art is more multi-semantic than traditional physical art, and requires new taxonomies as well as approaches for data acquisition.

Originality/value

Acknowledging that digital art simply has not yet evolved to the stage of being systematically collected by cultural institutions for documentation, curation and preservation, but otherwise, in the past few years, it has been at the front-center of social, economic and technological trends, the article suggests looking for hints on the future-proof extended metadata standard in some of those trends.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 80 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 April 2024

Pia Borlund, Nils Pharo and Ying-Hsang Liu

The PICCH research project contributes to opening a dialogue between cultural heritage archives and users. Hence, the users are identified and their information needs, the search…

Abstract

Purpose

The PICCH research project contributes to opening a dialogue between cultural heritage archives and users. Hence, the users are identified and their information needs, the search strategies they apply and the search challenges they experience are uncovered.

Design/methodology/approach

A combination of questionnaires and interviews is used for collection of data. Questionnaire data were collected from users of three different audiovisual archives. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with two user groups: (1) scholars searching information for research projects and (2) archivists who perform their own scholarly work and search information on behalf of others.

Findings

The questionnaire results show that the archive users mainly have an academic background. Hence, scholars and archivists constitute the target group for in-depth interviews. The interviews reveal that their information needs are multi-faceted and match the information need typology by Ingwersen. The scholars mainly apply collection-specific search strategies but have in common primarily doing keyword searching, which they typically plan in advance. The archivists do less planning owing to their knowledge of the collections. All interviewees demonstrate domain knowledge, archival intelligence and artefactual literacy in their use and mastering of the archives. The search challenges they experience can be characterised as search system complexity challenges, material challenges and metadata challenges.

Originality/value

The paper provides a rare insight into the complexity of the search situation of cultural heritage archives, and the users’ multi-facetted information needs and hence contributes to the dialogue between the archives and the users.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 December 2023

Rafiq Ahmad and Muhammad Rafiq

The digital contents (d-contents) are vulnerable to various threats either natural or manmade. Digital preservation is the plethora of a wide array of strategies necessary for the…

Abstract

Purpose

The digital contents (d-contents) are vulnerable to various threats either natural or manmade. Digital preservation is the plethora of a wide array of strategies necessary for the long-term preservation of digital objects. This study was carried out to assess the digital preservation practices for information resources in university libraries of Pakistan.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative survey based on a structured questionnaire was carried out to conduct the study. The questionnaire containing two sets of strategies (general and technical) was distributed amongst the whole population and received 90% response rate.

Findings

Overall, progressive implementation of general digital preservation practices was noted in these libraries like checking the digital collections for viruses, keeping the digital media in fire/water/theft proof locations, restricting unauthorized access, maintaining ideal humidity and temperature, and checking the digital media for functionality. Amongst the technical practices, only replication was in practice at a progressive rate, followed by metadata recording and media refreshing that was sometimes practiced in these libraries. The other technical practices were rarely or never practiced in these libraries. Significant variances in general and technical digital preservation practices were noted based on their physical locations (regional distribution).

Research limitations/implications

The study contributes a comprehensive set of digital preservation practices divided into general and technical types to conduct similar studies in other parts of the world.

Practical implications

The findings stress the need for national and institutional policies, funding streams and skill enhancement of library staff.

Originality/value

The study fills the literature gap and contributes a comprehensive set of digital preservation practices divided into general and technical types to conduct similar studies in other parts of the world.

Peer review

The peer-review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-02-2023-0074

Details

Online Information Review, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1468-4527

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 January 2024

Morteza Mohammadi Ostani, Jafar Ebadollah Amoughin and Mohadeseh Jalili Manaf

This study aims to adjust Thesis-type properties on Schema.org using metadata models and standards (MS) (Bibframe, electronic thesis and dissertations [ETD]-MS, Common European…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to adjust Thesis-type properties on Schema.org using metadata models and standards (MS) (Bibframe, electronic thesis and dissertations [ETD]-MS, Common European Research Information Format [CERIF] and Dublin Core [DC]) to enrich the Thesis-type properties for better description and processing on the Web.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is applied, descriptive analysis in nature and is based on content analysis in terms of method. The research population consisted of elements and attributes of the metadata model and standards (Bibframe, ETD-MS, CERIF and DC) and Thesis-type properties in the Schema.org. The data collection tool was a researcher-made checklist, and the data collection method was structured observation.

Findings

The results show that the 65 Thesis-type properties and the two levels of Thing and CreativeWork as its parents on Schema.org that corresponds to the elements and attributes of related models and standards. In addition, 12 properties are special to the Thesis type for better comprehensive description and processing, and 27 properties are added to the CreativeWork type.

Practical implications

Enrichment and expansion of Thesis-type properties on Schema.org is one of the practical applications of the present study, which have enabled more comprehensive description and processing and increased access points and visibility for ETDs in the environment Web and digital libraries.

Originality/value

This study has offered some new Thesis type properties and CreativeWork levels on Schema.org. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time this issue is investigated.

Details

Digital Library Perspectives, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2059-5816

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 January 2024

Besiki Stvilia and Dong Joon Lee

This study addresses the need for a theory-guided, rich, descriptive account of research data repositories' (RDRs) understanding of data quality and the structures of their data…

Abstract

Purpose

This study addresses the need for a theory-guided, rich, descriptive account of research data repositories' (RDRs) understanding of data quality and the structures of their data quality assurance (DQA) activities. Its findings can help develop operational DQA models and best practice guides and identify opportunities for innovation in the DQA activities.

Design/methodology/approach

The study analyzed 122 data repositories' applications for the Core Trustworthy Data Repositories, interview transcripts of 32 curators and repository managers and data curation-related webpages of their repository websites. The combined dataset represented 146 unique RDRs. The study was guided by a theoretical framework comprising activity theory and an information quality evaluation framework.

Findings

The study provided a theory-based examination of the DQA practices of RDRs summarized as a conceptual model. The authors identified three DQA activities: evaluation, intervention and communication and their structures, including activity motivations, roles played and mediating tools and rules and standards. When defining data quality, study participants went beyond the traditional definition of data quality and referenced seven facets of ethical and effective information systems in addition to data quality. Furthermore, the participants and RDRs referenced 13 dimensions in their DQA models. The study revealed that DQA activities were prioritized by data value, level of quality, available expertise, cost and funding incentives.

Practical implications

The study's findings can inform the design and construction of digital research data curation infrastructure components on university campuses that aim to provide access not just to big data but trustworthy data. Communities of practice focused on repositories and archives could consider adding FAIR operationalizations, extensions and metrics focused on data quality. The availability of such metrics and associated measurements can help reusers determine whether they can trust and reuse a particular dataset. The findings of this study can help to develop such data quality assessment metrics and intervention strategies in a sound and systematic way.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this paper is the first data quality theory guided examination of DQA practices in RDRs.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 November 2023

Nkeiru A. Emezie, Scholastica A.J. Chukwu, Ngozi M. Nwaohiri, Nancy Emerole and Ijeoma I. Bernard

University intellectual output such as theses and dissertations are valuable resources containing rigorous research results. Library staff who are key players in promoting…

Abstract

Purpose

University intellectual output such as theses and dissertations are valuable resources containing rigorous research results. Library staff who are key players in promoting intellectual output through institutional repositories require skills to promote content visibility, create wider outreach and facilitate easy access and use of these resources. This study aims to determine the skills of library staff to enhance the visibility of intellectual output in federal university libraries in southeast Nigeria.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey research design was adopted for the study. The questionnaire was used to obtain responses from library staff on the extent of computer skills and their abilities for digital conversion, metadata creation and preservation of digital content.

Findings

Library staff at the university libraries had high skills in basic computer operations. They had moderate skills in digital conversion, preservation and storage. However, they had low skills in metadata creation.

Practical implications

The study has implications for addressing the digital skills and professional expertise of library staff, especially as it concerns metadata creation, digital conversion, preservation and storage. It also has implications for the university management to prioritize the training of their library staff in other to increase the visibility of indigenous resources and university Web ranking.

Originality/value

This study serves as a lens to identify library staff skill gaps in many critical areas that require expertise and stimulate conscious effort toward developing adequate skills for effective digital information provision. It sheds light on the challenges that many Nigerian university libraries face in their pursuit of global visibility and university Web ranking.

Details

Digital Library Perspectives, vol. 40 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2059-5816

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 November 2023

Gustavo Candela, Nele Gabriëls, Sally Chambers, Milena Dobreva, Sarah Ames, Meghan Ferriter, Neil Fitzgerald, Victor Harbo, Katrine Hofmann, Olga Holownia, Alba Irollo, Mahendra Mahey, Eileen Manchester, Thuy-An Pham, Abigail Potter and Ellen Van Keer

The purpose of this study is to offer a checklist that can be used for both creating and evaluating digital collections, which are also sometimes referred to as data sets as part…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to offer a checklist that can be used for both creating and evaluating digital collections, which are also sometimes referred to as data sets as part of the collections as data movement, suitable for computational use.

Design/methodology/approach

The checklist was built by synthesising and analysing the results of relevant research literature, articles and studies and the issues and needs obtained in an observational study. The checklist was tested and applied both as a tool for assessing a selection of digital collections made available by galleries, libraries, archives and museums (GLAM) institutions as proof of concept and as a supporting tool for creating collections as data.

Findings

Over the past few years, there has been a growing interest in making available digital collections published by GLAM organisations for computational use. Based on previous work, the authors defined a methodology to build a checklist for the publication of Collections as data. The authors’ evaluation showed several examples of applications that can be useful to encourage other institutions to publish their digital collections for computational use.

Originality/value

While some work on making available digital collections suitable for computational use exists, giving particular attention to data quality, planning and experimentation, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, none of the work to date provides an easy-to-follow and robust checklist to publish collection data sets in GLAM institutions. This checklist intends to encourage small- and medium-sized institutions to adopt the collection as data principles in daily workflows following best practices and guidelines.

Details

Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9342

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 June 2023

Gema Bueno de la Fuente, Carmen Agustín-Lacruz, Mariângela Spotti Lopes Fujita and Ana Lúcia Terra

The purpose of this study is to analyse the recommendations on knowledge organisation from guidelines, policies and procedure manuals of a sample of institutional repositories and…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to analyse the recommendations on knowledge organisation from guidelines, policies and procedure manuals of a sample of institutional repositories and networks within the Latin American area and observe the level of follow-up of international guidelines.

Design/methodology/approach

Presented is an exploratory and descriptive study of repositories’ professional documents. This study comprised four steps: definition of convenience sample; development of data codebook; coding of data; and analysis of data and conclusions drawing. The convenience sample includes representative sources at three levels: local institutional repositories, national aggregators and international network and aggregators. The codebook gathers information from the repositories’ sample, such as institutional rules and procedure manuals openly available, or recommendations on the use of controlled vocabularies.

Findings

The results indicate that at the local repository level, the use of controlled vocabularies is not regulated, leaving the choice of terms to the authors’ discretion. It results in a set of unstructured keywords, not standardised terms, mixing subject terms with other authorities on persons, institutions or places. National aggregators do not regulate these issues either and limit to pointing to international guidelines and policies, which simply recommend the use of controlled vocabularies, using URIs to facilitate interoperability.

Originality/value

The originality of this study lies in identifying how the principles of knowledge organisation are effectively applied by institutional repositories, at local, national and international levels.

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 8 February 2023

Edoardo Ramalli and Barbara Pernici

Experiments are the backbone of the development process of data-driven predictive models for scientific applications. The quality of the experiments directly impacts the model…

Abstract

Purpose

Experiments are the backbone of the development process of data-driven predictive models for scientific applications. The quality of the experiments directly impacts the model performance. Uncertainty inherently affects experiment measurements and is often missing in the available data sets due to its estimation cost. For similar reasons, experiments are very few compared to other data sources. Discarding experiments based on the missing uncertainty values would preclude the development of predictive models. Data profiling techniques are fundamental to assess data quality, but some data quality dimensions are challenging to evaluate without knowing the uncertainty. In this context, this paper aims to predict the missing uncertainty of the experiments.

Design/methodology/approach

This work presents a methodology to forecast the experiments’ missing uncertainty, given a data set and its ontological description. The approach is based on knowledge graph embeddings and leverages the task of link prediction over a knowledge graph representation of the experiments database. The validity of the methodology is first tested in multiple conditions using synthetic data and then applied to a large data set of experiments in the chemical kinetic domain as a case study.

Findings

The analysis results of different test case scenarios suggest that knowledge graph embedding can be used to predict the missing uncertainty of the experiments when there is a hidden relationship between the experiment metadata and the uncertainty values. The link prediction task is also resilient to random noise in the relationship. The knowledge graph embedding outperforms the baseline results if the uncertainty depends upon multiple metadata.

Originality/value

The employment of knowledge graph embedding to predict the missing experimental uncertainty is a novel alternative to the current and more costly techniques in the literature. Such contribution permits a better data quality profiling of scientific repositories and improves the development process of data-driven models based on scientific experiments.

1 – 10 of 382