Michelle & Kenyon
What is the goal of the project?
Mining the Dispatch is a website dedicated to presenting analysis of the contents of Richmond’s Daily Dispatch during the Civil War period. Interactive capabilities allow site visitors to explore by topics ranging from “poetry and patriotism” to transportation schedules to ads to war prisoners and learn more about the trends and patterns of the newspaper’s coverage. The project “seeks to explore – and encourage exploration of – the dramatic and often traumatic changes as well as the sometimes surprising continuities in the social political life of Civil War Richmond.”
Which academic fields (i.e history) do you see the project in conversation with?
History, media studies (print media), political studies, sociology, anthropology, American Studies.
Does the site make an argument? If so, what?
For the most part it is not trying to make a single argument, but some of the topics are presented with additional analysis that might make additional claims about subtopics of the project. Primary claim is that the data provides useful insights into life in the Civil War period.
What are the components? (i.e essay, interactive map, etc)
(Interactive) graphs, introductory context/explanation of methods, interactive database, predictive analytics, site utility information/explanations, single source analysis.
Which methods are used?
“It uses as its principle methodology topic modeling, a computational, probabilistic technique to uncover categories and discover patterns in and among texts.”
Who is the target audience? (i.e. specialists? a broader public?)
The website has a broad audience. The explanation of topic modeling provided is thorough but pretty accessible, seems to be geared towards those who might not work directly with topic modeling but find the methodology informative.
What kinds of data is being used? Is the data available for broader use? Would you want it to be?
All the data comes from editions of the Richmond Daily Dispatch from 1860 to 1865. The data is available through a University of Richmond archival website. Yes, it’s helpful so those who interact with the project can also see the data in its original contexts.
Is the project open source/ open access?
Does not seem like it is. Doesn’t say anything about licensing. Can’t contribute to it or adapt it.
Who made the website? What are their relationships to the institution?
Robert K. Nelson. He is the Director of the Digital Scholarship Lab at University of Richmond. University of Richmond also houses the Daily Dispatch archives.
