LUCDH Workshop March 2019
Studium Digitale: An Introduction to Network Data, Analysis, and Visualization
LUCDH & DH/SN
Studium Digitale is a pilot for a workshop series that provides introductory or advanced knowledge on digital tools that benefit humanities research. In this first edition we will explore the potential of networks.
Networks are a concept and a form of analysis and data used in a wide range of human, social, and natural science fields. Broadly speaking, a network approach seeks to understand how things are connected to each other through visualization, measurement, and modelling. They have the potential to boost humanity research by providing new insights, surprising results, and evocative visualizations.
This workshop will provide an introduction to network theory and practice using actual case-studies and datasets. For the first section of the workshop, we will use a classic humanities’ network case-study, based on Padgett’s analysis of the power relations between 15th century Florentine families. The second section of the workshop will use tags describing the contents of video games on the Steam Store. These tags allow us to study the concept of genre through a network perspective. Even if these case-studies do not reflect the type of data and themes you (would like to) work on, they will give you an understanding of the core concepts and workflow underlying network approaches. Furthermore, during the last part of the workshop we will have some time to reflect on the opportunities for and pitfalls of network approaches in your own research through an open discussion, followed by drinks.
In the workshop you will work with visone (visual social networks), a tool with many possibilities for visualization and analyses but a relatively low barrier for entry. Computers with visone installed will be made available at the location, but if you would like to use your own laptop, please download the java file (.jar) at visone.info and run it at least one time to make sure it works (if it does not, you may have to install or update java).
We hope to make this a valuable afternoon both for staff and students who are completely new to networks as well as people who have some experience with networks, but would like to think or work through core concepts in connection to other humanity researchers and students.
You will learn:
- To understand the concepts and theories that are at the core of network approaches.
- What networks look like mathematically as well as how to create network data-sets.
- To be able to read as well as create one-mode (“direct”) and two-mode (“indirect”) network visualizations and undertake basic analyses.
- To begin to understand if and how networks could play a part in your own research.
The workshop takes place in Lipsius/126 on March 8th and the program of the workshop is as follows:
13:00-13:30 Introduction to Networks
13:30-15:00 Visualizing and analyzing networks in visone: Florentine Families
15:00-16:30 Visualizing and analyzing two-mode networks in visone, using
16:30 Open discussion on potential applications of network tools for your own research.
17:00 Drinks at Pakhuis Leiden (Doelensteeg 8)
The maximum number of participants is 20. If you are interested in participating, please sign up by sending an email to lucdh@leidenuniv.nl.