Text Mining for Historians: A free two-day AHRC ICT Methods Network Workshop

University of Glasgow: 17-18 July, 2007

What is the purpose of this workshop?

Texts are central to historical research and an increasing body of historical texts are becoming available in electronic format. Despite a long-standing interest in computer aided text analysis the use of computer assisted methods and tools are not widespread amongst historians. Organised by AHDS History and the AHC (UK) and building upon the successful Methods Network Workshop on Historical Text Mining in Lancaster in July 2006, this workshop aims to introduce participants to the methods and tools developed and currently employed by corpus linguists. It will provide practical hands on experience of using these tools such a Wmatrix, a software tool for corpus analysis and comparison, and VARD, which matches spelling variants to their normalised equivalents. In addition it will enable participants to explore the pros and cons of employing these tools and methods in historical research.

Timetable:

17 July

12.00-13.00	Arrival and Lunch
13.00-16.45	Presentations from four current projects including: Clare Llewellyn and Rob Sanderson (University of Liverpool) from the National Centre for Text Mining (NaCTeM);
	Paul Rayson (University of Lancaster) on Corpus Annotation;
	Mark Greengrass (University of Sheffield) on the Armadillo project and Historical Data Mining;
	Christian Kay (University of Glasgow) on the Historical Thesaurus of English.
16.45-17.30	Discussion

18 July

9.00- 15.00	Practical sessions: Text Mining Tools including Wmatrix and VARD
15.00- 16.00	Discussion: Text Mining in Historical Research: opportunities and drawbacks

Who should come?

The workshop is aimed at academic staff and post graduates whose research involves the analysis of significant bodies of textual material and who would like to know more about computerised techniques and tools that they could potentially use to aid their research. Moreover, the workshop will be particularly useful for researchers who would like practical hands on experience of using these tools.

How much will it cost?

The workshop is funded by the AHRC ICT Methods Network and is free of charge, with lunch and refreshments included. Participants will be expected to pay their own travel and accommodation costs. To secure a place at the workshop we will require a £50 deposit, refundable on attendance.

The Association for History and Computing UK (AHC-UK) is offering a £50 bursary towards travel costs for one postgraduate student. Every post-graduate student who is offered a place at the workshop will automatically be considered for the bursary.

How do I apply?

Places are limited, so it is in your interest to apply early. If the workshop is over-subscribed we will select applicants on the basis of who we think will benefit most so please include a brief description of your research interests and what you think you will gain from the workshop as part of registering. This should not exceed 200 words.

Booking forms must be returned to AHDS History by Friday 8 June 2007.

You can apply via the downloadable booking form (rich text format or word document) which should be sent as an email attachment to Zoe Bliss

or by post to:

AHDS History, UKDA
University of Essex,
Colchester,
Essex,
CO2 7LL

Where can I find out more?

For further information on this workshop contact either Zoe Bliss, AHDS History, or Ian Anderson, AHC (UK).