Data encoding entails an analog-to-digital conversion in which the characteristics of an object, text, or archaeological site can be represented in a specialized format for computer handling. Once encoded, data can be stored, sorted, and analyzed through a variety of computer-based techniques ranging from specialized data-mining algorithms to user-friendly mobile apps. Especially when encoded data is open-source, researchers around the world can collaborate on the collection, encoding, and analysis of data.

Session description

Data encoding entails an analog-to-digital conversion in which the characteristics of an object, text, or archaeological site can be represented in a specialized format for computer handling. Once encoded, data can be stored, sorted, and analyzed through a variety of computer-based techniques ranging from specialized data-mining algorithms to user-friendly mobile apps. Especially when encoded data is open-source, researchers around the world can collaborate on the collection, encoding, and analysis of data. A single encoded corpus could be analyzed concurrently by multiple projects, and encoded data can be linked across corpuses to facilitate broader, potentially interdisciplinary, studies. Crowdsourcing may also be employed to gather and annotate more data than the members of a research team, themselves, could pursue. This session offers a venue for the presentation of methodologies, projects, and discoveries based on encoding or encoded data. We aim to describe and demonstrate a wide spectrum of research that might include studies of stratigraphy, object typologies, provenance, cultural heritage, lexical databases, and prosopography. Ultimately this session aims to demonstrate the value of encoded data and digital collaboration as powerful resources for revealing otherwise imperceptible information about the ancient Near East.

Submission guidelines

We invite you to submit an abstract for our new 2016 ASOR session, “Encoding Data for Digital Collaboration” (session description below). This year ASOR will be held in San Antonio, Texas, November 16-19. Abstracts (250 words or less) must be submitted electronically

by February 15th:

http://asor.conference-services.net/authorlogin.asp?conferenceID=4981&language=en-uk

Note that ASOR membership and conference registration are required at the time of abstract submission: http://www.asor.org/am/2016/registration.html

For European student registration: if these fees present an obstacle, please be in touch with one of us.

Co-chair

• Amy Gansell, PhD

Assistant Professor of Art History

St. John's University (Queens, New York)

https://stjohns.academia.edu/AmyRebeccaGansell

• Vanessa Juloux

Ph.D candidate at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (EPHE, UMR 8167, France)

Data coordinator & digital humanities monitoring (EPHE)

https://ephe.academia.edu/VanessaJuloux