Collaborative for Historical Information and Analysis: Vision and Work Plan

Authors

  • Vladimir Zadorozhny University of Pittsburgh
  • Patrick Manning University of Pittsburgh
  • Daniel J. Bain University of Pittsburgh
  • Ruth Mostern University of California - Merced

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/jwhi.2013.2

Abstract

This article conveys the vision of a world-historical dataset, constructed in order to provide data on human social affairs at the global level over the past several centuries. The construction of this dataset will allow the routine application of tools developed for analyzing “Big Data” to global, historical analysis. The work is conducted by the Collaborative for Historical Information and Analysis (CHIA). This association of groups at universities and research institutes in the U.S. and Europe includes five groups funded by the National Science Foundation for work to construct infrastructure for collecting and archiving data on a global level. The article identifies the elements of infrastructure-building, shows how they are connected, and sets the project in the context of previous and current efforts to build large-scale historical datasets. The project is developing a crowd-sourcing application for ingesting and documenting data, a broad and flexible archive, and a “data hoover” process to locate and gather historical datasets for inclusion. In addition, the article identifies four types of data and analytical questions to be explored through this data resource, addressing development, governance, social structure, and the interaction of social and natural variables.


Downloads

Published

2013-02-20

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 1 (2013)

Section

Articles: Vision

License

  • The Author shall grant to the Publisher and its agents the nonexclusive perpetual right and license to publish, archive, and make accessible the Work in whole or in part in all forms of media now or hereafter known under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Licenseor its equivalent, which, for the avoidance of doubt, allows others to copy, distribute, and transmit the Work under the following conditions:
    1. Attribution—other users must attribute the Work in the manner specified by the author as indicated on the journal Web site;
    with the understanding that the above condition can be waived with permission from the Author and that where the Work or any of its elements is in the public domain under applicable law, that status is in no way affected by the license.
  • The Author is able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the nonexclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the Work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), as long as there is provided in the document an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  • Authors are permitted and encouraged to post online a pre-publication manuscript (but not the Publisher’s final formatted PDF version of the Work) in institutional repositories or on their Websites prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (see The Effect of Open Access). Any such posting made before acceptance and publication of the Work shall be updated upon publication to include a reference to the Publisher-assigned DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and a link to the online abstract for the final published Work in the Journal.
  • Upon Publisher’s request, the Author agrees to furnish promptly to Publisher, at the Author’s own expense, written evidence of the permissions, licenses, and consents for use of third-party material included within the Work, except as determined by Publisher to be covered by the principles of Fair Use.
  • The Author represents and warrants that:
    1. the Work is the Author’s original work;
    2. the Author has not transferred, and will not transfer, exclusive rights in the Work to any third party;
    3. the Work is not pending review or under consideration by another publisher;
    4. the Work has not previously been published;
    5. the Work contains no misrepresentation or infringement of the Work or property of other authors or third parties; and
    6. the Work contains no libel, invasion of privacy, or other unlawful matter.
  • The Author agrees to indemnify and hold Publisher harmless from Author’s breach of the representations and warranties contained in Paragraph 7 above, as well as any claim or proceeding relating to Publisher’s use and publication of any content contained in the Work, including third-party content.