Digital Scholarship Project Checklist

1. Articulate the Project’s Research Question and Scholarly Conversation

The boundaries between “routine” digitization and scholarship are not hard and fast, of course, but within a scholarly project, it is fundamental from the outset that the scholar be able to articulate the research question and the scholarly conversations in which the project participates. Over time, the argument or thesis should develop.

2. Research Other Projects with Similar Aims or Methodologies

This step is analogous to performing a literature review before starting research and writing. Doing so ensures you do not pour your heart and soul into something someone has already done, and it may suggest possible collaborators.

3. Define the Scope of the Project

Set out the boundaries for the project, including the beginning and ending of the project, what it will accomplish, and the primary audience. If you fail to define a project, you risk struggling with a scope that continually changes and, consequently, never finishing the project.

Note: Be prepared to evaluate progress toward your stated goal. Before revising the scope of the project, carefully consider the consequences of scope change, and remember that resources—including time—are finite.

4. Evaluate Needed and Available Resources

Determine what resources are necessary to complete the project (hardware, software, content, expertise). Perform this evaluation early to get a handle on what it will take to complete the project.

• Assess what resources are available at your institution, both within and outside the library, as well as in the community.
• If you do not have access to all of the necessary resources, consider changing the project scope, partnering with another institution, or employing a different technological solution.

5. Identify Project Participants

Digital humanities projects regularly involve a range of participants, including scholars, librarians, students, IT professionals, and people from outside the academic community. Assess early in the project who these participants should be.

Key Point: You cannot develop your project further without the right team.

6. Develop a Communication Plan

A communication plan articulates the etiquette for how the team will communicate with one another and externally about the project.

• Within the team, what is a reasonable time to wait for an answer from another project participant?
• How will inquiries be handled once the project or project results are public?

7. Investigate Issues Regarding Intellectual Property

Before proceeding with the project, have clarity about copyright and fair use for any intellectual property used by the project. Document all decisions made about intellectual property both used by and created for the project.

8. Develop a Project Work Plan

Identify the order of activities and the critical paths. Break the project into smaller pieces and establish milestones and benchmarks for each of these pieces as well as for the overall project.

Note: The work plan should also include a budget, even if it is just the time of participants.

9. Develop a Data Management Plan

Determine what project materials will need to be maintained beyond the research stage, by whom, and for how long. Start planning for data management at the beginning of the project.

10. Assess Project Development

Regularly assess whether actual project work matches with the scope, timeline, goals, and budget articulated in the project initiation phase. Respond to changes as necessary.

11. Document Project Work

Document work throughout the entire project. With multiple people working on most digital humanities projects, turnover happens. Without documentation, a new person coming into a crucial role might have to start fresh.

12. Seek Evaluation and Peer Review

At the outset of the research endeavor, members of the project team should discuss requirements and options for evaluation of their scholarship.

13. Disseminate Results

Project results may culminate in an article, book, series of blog posts, website, source code, or input and output data. Explore possibilities for increasing the findability of your scholarship.

14. Perform Project Closedown Procedures

Taking the time to formally conclude a project is a crucial final step. Closedown procedures include completing any remaining documentation as well as following through on the data management plan.

Source: “A Checklist for Digital Humanities Scholarship”, Digital Humanities in the Library - Challenges and Opportunities for Subject Specialists, Elizabeth Lorang and Kathleen A. Johnson