Digital scholarship is the use of digital tools and methods in research, teaching, and creative work. It includes a wide range of activities, from using software for data analysis to creating multimedia projects for public engagement.
Digital scholarship often involves collaborating across disciplines and exploring new ways to generate, share, and preserve knowledge in digital formats. The key aim is to enhance accessibility, interactivity, and the reach of academic and creative endeavors.
A hallmark of digital scholarship is its emphasis on innovation and connectivity. Digital platforms enable scholars to visualize complex data, create interactive models, and publish work beyond traditional print formats. They also promote openness by making research outputs accessible to wider audiences, including communities outside academia.
This research guide covers:
Common methods used in digital scholarship
Example projects organized by method
Tools to build projects
Tutorials and documentation on using tools
We have also included suggested resources to learn more about the field of digital scholarship.
While students and faculty across the university are engaged with digital scholarship, the central hub of digital scholarship on campus is Parks Library. Here, your digital scholarship librarians can help you start a digital research project, integrate digital methods into your classroom, or connect with other practitioners around campus. Read more about collaborating with digital scholarship librarians.
The Digital Scholarship and Initiatives department can be found in The Catalyst, room 199 of Parks Library. Here we hold consultations, host workshops, and run events like our annual Digital Scholarship Symposium.
The Catalyst has three high-powered PCs with a wide array of useful software. Much of the software mentioned in this guide can be found on these computers. The Catalyst PCs are reservable anytime another event is not scheduled in our space.
You may be more familiar with other terms such as digital humanities or computational humanities. In most ways, we use those terms interchangeably. We prefer the term digital scholarship, though, because we feel it emphasizes the broad reach and utility of these tools and methods across academic disciplines. We work with students, faculty, and researchers from every college and discipline at ISU.
The library's collections and services are available to all ISU students, faculty, and staff and Parks Library is open to the public.
