Data Excavation Lab

Are you data-curious? Have you ever heard someone mention “extracting data from a map” and wondered what they were talking about? Have you ever wanted to “map” a text? Have you ever wished you knew how to organize geographic information? Have you ever wondered how hard it would be to map water? The Data Excavation Lab might be perfect for you!

There are two ways to participate. Option 1: Grant-based commitment. (The Lab is designed for this experience.) Option 2: Sign up as a drop-in at one of the (more or less) stand alone skill sessions designated with an asterisk below.

Our lab sessions will introduce core concepts and practices related to spatial methods and prepare you to excavate data from maps and texts. Topics include geocoding, georeferencing, and semantic annotation (though don’t worry if those terms sound intimidating). Once you have your feet wet, you will select a source – a text or a map – that contains information about the natural world of Ukraine at any point in its history, up to the present. You will build an original dataset and integrate it into the database we build together.

We will use a set of incredible tools and a range of digital methods, but this lab is about "slow data" rather than "big data." It is about finding data in unexpected places. No GIS or programming experience is expected. Ability to read a Slavic language is welcome but not required. Willingness to make mistakes, work as a team, and laugh is most definitely required.

Link to working database

Check the Planning Board

(You can make posts of your own or comment on the posted questions.)

Materials for November 24

Disaster data / and this too