Deconstruction Questions

Inspired by Miriam Posner’s “How did they make that?” and a special issue of the Journal of Digital Humanities (Volume 1, No. 4, Fall 2012), which focused on evaluating digital scholarship.

General

  • What was the time frame from conception to implementation? What stage is the project in (complete, ongoing, iterative by nature)? When was it originally published? Has it been updated? If so, what version is it?
  • Was this project funded? Regardless, what human or monetary resources did it require?
  • What knowledge, skills, and competencies were needed to carry out the project?
  • Is the project licensed openly?
  • What evidence is there that the project is sustainable (or not)?

Purpose

  • What is its purpose or research question? Its thesis or argument?
  • How does the project contribute to and advance the state of knowledge of a given field?
  • Does the project need to be digital, or would it have been just as (or more) impactful in a traditional, paper-based medium?
  • How does the work advance an argument through both the content and the way content is presented?

Creators and contributors

  • Who “owns” the project? That is, who are the project investigators and/or rightsholders?
  • Who are the members of the project team? What are their backgrounds project roles?
  • Who is acknowledged as a creator or contributor?

Audience and reception

  • Who is the intended audience? Are there other potential audiences?
  • Is the project accessible to its audience(s)?
  • How was the work received? For example, expert consultations? Formal peer review? Citations (books, journal articles, conferences, blogs, tweets)? Grants received? Prizes? Associated publications? Featured in popular media? Adoption in curriculum?

Methods

  • What do you know about the data underpinning the research? Are data sources shared?
  • Does the project conform with any existing standards?
  • Is there documentation of the process and design decisions?

Technology

  • What infrastructure was needed?
  • What technology platforms does this project make use of?