Digital Dissertations: Defining, Architecting, & SustainingKathie Gossett, Ph.D.Assistant Professor of Digital HumanitiesIowa State Universitykgossett@iastate.edu

Liza Potts, Ph.D.Assistant Professor of Digital HumanitiesMichigan State Universitylpotts@msu.edu

DefinitionBorn-digital dissertations rely on complex interactions between media-rich elements to construct their arguments.

Figures: Taken from Carrie A. Lamanna’s dissertation “Disciplining Identities: Feminism, New Media, and 21st Century Research Practices,” 2008.

We hypothesize that the reluctance of humanities scholars to fully embrace digital scholarship is not due to its novelty or rapid evolution, but due to a deeply embedded philosophy of knowledge that privileges print-centric ways of knowing and solitary authorship. This hostility towards the digital affects not just those already working in academic positions, but also stifles the creativity of those entering academia—doctoral students. In fact, it is our contention that this moment of disciplinary training, especially the dissertation phase, is precisely where this underlying print-centric philosophy rises to the surface, making it a fruitful area for research.

Digital media and computational technologies are radically transforming how knowledge is produced, communicated, and evaluated. The digitalization of scholarly work in the humanities brings new modes of research; new formats of presentation; new networks for communication; and new platforms for organizing knowledge, orchestrating argument, and visualizing intellectual exchange. Doctoral students in the modern languages will increasingly create and use digital archives and invent multimodal forms of scholarly presentation and communication in the next decade. Why should the dissertation remain inflexibly wedded to traditional book-culture formats?~ S. Smith, Beyond the Dissertation Monograph,

2010 ~ K. Gossett & C. Lamanna, Dissertating Digitally,

forthcoming

Dissertating Digitally

• A survey of graduate students and faculty in Rhetoric & Composition

How important is it for graduate programs that prepare digital scholars to provide their students with opportunities to learn and practice using various hardware, software, and programming languages?

Fairly Important

In what contexts does your program offer opportunities for students to learn digital authoring technologies? [Check all that apply.]

Are students in your program permitted to compose their theses or dissertations entirely in digital form?

Unsure

CommentsSeriously doubtNo one has triedPDF with embedded media (maybe)

Are students in your program permitted to compose part of their theses or dissertations in digital form?

Unsure

YesPDF (2)Chapter (2)Data CollectionAppendix CDNot Encouraged

Which entities beyond the dissertation committee determine the shape of dissertations/theses at your institution? (Check all that apply.)

Unsure

Digital Dissertation Depository (D3)

•A system for born-digital dissertations to be deposited, cross-referenced, & maintained

•Open-source & open access

•Design workshop conducted in August, 2012

•Supported by an NEH Digital Start Up Grant

Problem• Digital dissertations need a place to

be deposited, cross-referenced, and made accessible for years to come.

• Current depositories (e.g., Proquest, ETD, etc.) do not meet these requirements

Solution• Digital Dissertation Depository (D3)

The Workshop• 3 days, 14 participants at the MATRIX

lab on the Michigan State University campus.

http://digidiss.eserver.org

• Participants included:• Kathleen Fitzpatrick, Director of

Scholarly Communication at MLA• Shanna Kimball, Director of

Digital Collections at the New York Public Library

• Quinn Warnick, Asst. Professor, Virginia Tech

• Graduate students from iSchools, English/TechComm, Library Studies

D3: User Experience• Conducted landscape analysis of

current tools

D3: User Experience• Conducted landscape analysis of

current tools• Identified key stakeholders

• Graduate Students

• Dissertation Chair

• Department Chair

• Dean

• Provost

• Librarian

• Funding Agencies

D3: User Experience• Conducted landscape analysis of

current tools• Identified key stakeholders• Created personas/use cases

D3: User Experience• Conducted landscape analysis of

current tools• Identified key stakeholders• Created personas/use cases• Gathered requirements

Digital Dissertations: Next Steps

• Build partnerships

• Build Digital Dissertation Directory

• Build Digital Dissertation Depository

• NEH Implementation Grant

• Seek other funding opportunities

http://digidiss.eserver.org | http://digidiss.org | #digidiss