What Makes a Good DH Project

Five qualities of a good DH project include:

1) Having a clear and understandable focus and goal.

2) Academically written which includes proper language and correct citations.

3) Relevant to a certain group of people, must be desirable to read.

4) User interactiveness, including a functioning search feature.

5) Aesthetically pleasing, including a well-constructed layout and neat organization.

A good DH project will leave the viewer/reader much more knowledgeable about a specific topic than they were before they visited it. A good project should offer information and insight on certain subjects using digital tools to enhance one’s education. It can either answer a question, exploit an opportunity, and simply inform an audience, among other things. While it should contain plenty of facts and analysis, it shouldn’t be difficult to understand or follow. Just because the creators of the project are familiar with Digital Humanities, that doesn’t mean the readers are. It should be easy to navigate and find answers to any certain questions the reader may have. It should absolutely have proper grammar and punctuation and should have an academic feel to it. That may be more of my opinion, as a Digital Project could definitely be done in a more leisurely and relaxed way. But a good one to me, has a scholarly sense to it, making it both reputable and reliable. That of course, means it must contain proper citations and references where needed.

DH lets scholars ask new questions simply because DH is still a relatively new concept. It’s still growing in both participation and familiarity. New digital tools are being created as time goes on, opening the door to endless possibilities. As new tools and resources become available, scholars must ask themselves what can be done with the tool, as well as where it can be taken. Also, since DH has a heavy focus on the internet and social media, it’s very easy for scholars to ask questions and give answers to their DH peers as everyone in the field is connected via technology one way or another.