Developing Data Stories in Digital Humanities: Challenges and Protocol

Abstract

This article discusses the development of data-driven stories and the editorial processes underlying their production. Such ‘data stories’ have proliferated in journalism but are also increasingly developed within academia. Within CLARIAH, the Common Lab Infrastructure for the Arts and Humanities, we are developing data stories based on analyses of data and metadata available via the Media Suite, an online resource providing access to a wide range of multimedia collections. Although ‘data stories’ lack a clear definition, there are similarities between the processes that underlie journalistic and academic data stories. However, there are also differences, specifically when it comes to epistemological claims. In this article we discuss data stories as phenomenon and their use in journalism and in the Humanities, based on the three main elements of data stories: data, visualisation, and narration. This provides the context in which we developed an editorial protocol for the development of CLARIAH Media Suite Data Stories, which includes four phases: exploration, research, review, and publication. While exploration focuses on data selection, research focuses on narration. Visualisation plays a role in both of these phases. Review is geared towards quality control, and in the publication phase the data story is published and monitored. By discussing our editorial protocol, we hope to contribute to the debate about how to develop and account for academic data stories.