If you are new to the concept of digital scholarship, this guide will introduce you to core concepts, approaches, methodologies, and toolkits to help you get started.
For those returning to digital scholarship, this guide gives you the local context for digital scholarship at Iowa State University and the framework we apply here.
Digital scholarship refers to the use of digital tools and methods in research, teaching, and creative work. It encompasses a wide range of activities, from utilizing software for data analysis to creating multimedia projects for public engagement. This form of scholarship often involves interdisciplinary collaboration and the exploration of 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.
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.
This guide serves to introduce you to the following:
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. For more information on how we can help you, please refer to our Collaboration webpage.
The Digital Scholarship and Initiatives department can be found in The Catalyst, room 199 of Parks Library. This collaborative space is where we hold consultations, host workshops, and run events like our annual Digital Scholarship Symposium.
The Catalyst is also home to three high-powered PCs with a wide array of useful software. Many of the desktop apps mentioned throughout this guide can be found on these computers. The Catalyst PCs are reservable anytime another event is not scheduled in our space.
The library's collections and services are available to all ISU students, faculty, and staff and Parks Library is open to the public.
