Don't know where to start? Contact a Subject Specialist.
This guide was created by Heidi Madden and Arianne Hartsell-Gundy.
It was updated and revised by Julia Glauberman in spring 2016.
It was updated by Arianne Hartsell-Gundy, Heidi Madden, Liz Milewicz, and Will Shaw in 2021.
It was revised in 2025 by Hannah Jacobs.
Digital humanities methods comprise a wide range reflecting the many disciplines engaged in dh research: from text and data to visualizations and sound, there are many possible approaches and tools you might apply.
It's most important that you choose a method helps you answer your research question and/or meet your goal. Your sources must also be supported by your method. For example:
Another way to approach choosing a method is to consider the question words in relation to your visualization. This table offers an overview of which methods might support which question words:
| Methods | Who? | What? / Which? | Where? | When? | How? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| quantitative (e.g. data visualization, distant reading) | x | x | x | x | |
| temporal (e.g. timelines) | x | x | |||
| spatial (e.g. mapping) | x | x | |||
| dimensional (e.g. 3d modeling) | x | x | x | ||
| narrative (e.g. storymaps, exhibits, virtual reality) | x | x | x | x | x |
| archival (e.g. data collection & cleaning) | x | x | x | x | x |
| network (e.g. social network analysis) | x | x | x |
Regardless of which method you choose, you will have data that you need to manage. The libraries offers guidance and workshops on data management. If you are working on a grant-funded project, you'll likely need a data management plan. Regardless, you'll want to think early in your project about practices such as file naming and organization, file versioning, storage & back up, documentation, and more.
You may want to think critically about how you approach working with data. Scholars from a variety of fields are thinking about
These and many other theoretical framings can help you make decisions regarding not only how you gather and structure data but also which methods you engage.
Especially if you are working with text or other unstructured data, you may need to spend some time structuring your data before you can move into your chosen method. Here are some tools, approaches, and resources to help you get started:
If you are beginning with printed or analog material, you may need to scan these documents before you can work with them. Scanning will enable you to work with the materials outside of the archive or storage location, share them with others if you are working collaboratively, and perform computational tasks that will support your data structuring and management.
If you have images or PDFs of text that you'd like to make machine readable, you may need to transcribe your sources and/or go through processes called Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR) and Optical Character Recognition (OCR). This step can take longer than all the other parts of your project combined, so take time to figure out the best platform and method for your project. Here are some tools and resources to help you get started:
If you're working with handwritten sources, you may be able to use a semi-automated process, handwritten text recognition, to transform the handwriting into machine-readable text. Try some of the following:
Interested in learning more about HTR tools? Check out these papers:
If you're working with a script that HTR tools have difficulty recognizing, you're concerned about the privacy policies of HTR tools, or you wish to engage in a manual process for epistemological or ethical reasons, there are a number of transcription tools that can help you (in addition to eScriptorium and Transkribus listed above). For manual transcription, you could start with a folder of Microsoft Word documents. If you need to collaborate, you could migrate these into Duke Box or Google Drive. If you're looking to work with a broader community or integrate with a larger project, here are some platforms to try:
Looking for resources to teach students about transcribing historical texts? This Script Tutorial from Brigham Young University and this general introduction to transcription from eLaboratories are two places to start.
OCR focuses specifically on automated transcription of printed text, so it's best used for books, newspapers, and other mass-produced documents. Here are some tools to get you started. Note that some HTR tools listed above can also do OCR.
If you're working with audio or video and want to generate text for archiving or for analysis, here are some tools that can help:
Once you have machine-readable text, you might need to structure it to support your planned analyses. (If you're planning to do natural language processing or basic text analysis, though, this step might not be necessary.)
The following tools are great not only for organizing all those photos you took in the archive, but also for browsing and analyzing your collected materials:
Once you have your data, you may find that you need to structure it: many dh methods rely on spreadsheets or other simple data structures like JSON. You'll need to think about what kinds of data fields will support your research question and method. Here are some basic and more advanced methods and tools to help you:
3D modeling can help you analyze spaces and/or objects. 3D modeling combined with virtual or augmented reality (collectively: extended reality) can be ways of sharing scholarship in the classroom, in exhibitions, and beyond.
There are multiple approaches to creating a digital 3D model. You might use a camera to take many photos of a room or object and use software to stitch those images together (photogrammetry); you might use a laser scanner to collect and stitch together spatial data; you might build a digital model in software from scratch based on historical plans--there are many possibilities.
There are many ways to approach the creation of virtual and augmented reality (VR & AR). Here are some of them:
Looking for help with a VR or AR project? Look no further than Duke's Virtual Reality Studio.
Data visualization can help you analyze and communicate quantitative information about your research. The Center for Data & Visualization Science in Duke Libraries offers workshops, recordings, guides, and consultations to support data visualization. In addition, here are some resources for creating basic visualizations:
Maps and timelines can be useful tools to analyze and share topics that change over time, move across space, and/or operate at multiple scales. Some mapping and timeline tools are listed below.
For support with mapping, reach out to askdata@duke.edu.
The following web-based tool enable timeline creation in a variety of formats (interactive and static, digital and print-ready). When selecting your timeline tool, be sure to think about how your audience will interact with the timeline and what kinds of media you might want to integrate into your timeline.
If you are interested in studying many relationships at once, network diagramming and network analysis might be for you. The difference between diagramming and analysis is in your method:
Here are two places to learn more about networks.
The following tools can also be used for creating diagrams but include powerful analytical functionalities.
Text analysis tools can support both interpretive and quantitative analyses of text. They are helpful for examining and visualizing patterns, enumerating word frequencies and collocations, identifying clusters of topics, reading across texts, and more. Here are some tools to get started. If you don't find what you're looking for, try this how-to guide and this directory.
Have sources that you need to make computationally readable first? Check out the preparing text section above, which includes information on Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR) and Optical Character Recognition (OCR).
Learn more about text analysis in our how-to guide.
The digital publishing platform (content management system) you choose will match your project goals and your resources. There are several decisions you'll need to make:
Whichever platform you choose will need a hosting provider. Check out this list of Duke-managed hosting options below, or the options for external hosting listed below.
If you are considering an external hosting platform, check out these services:
If you choose to host a website external to Duke, it's highly recommended that you not use your Duke credentials when creating website admin accounts. NEVER use your, or anyone else's, netID when setting up user accounts.
Drupal: If you will have a complex data structure, need modularity, and have specific interaction needs, then Drupal might be for you. Sites@Duke Pro is built in Drupal, but comes with a price tag. You can also host it externally on many different hosting providers.
While you could choose any of the above to create a digital book or catalog, the following platforms are designed specifically for this purpose:
Duke offers several publishing options for researchers who want to share their work, create digital supplements to printed scholarship, or experiment with new forms of scholarly communication. The table below lists the most commonly used platforms that are available to most (or all) Duke users, locally supported, and public-facing.
Not sure which platform to choose? Schedule a consultation: askdigital@duke.edu.
A free WordPress-based website hosting service. It is ideally used for blogs, course websites, project or group websites, and individual portfolios. (More information...)
Typical User: Any Duke affiliate who wants to publish content in a locally supported platform equipped with common plugins and capabilities.
Cost: Free. Renewal required every 5 years.
A semi-custom Drupal-based website hosting and development service. (More information...)
Typical User: Departments, programs, initiatives, and large campus organizations.
Cost: $3,000 initial cost + $250/month maintenance (More information...)
An OIT development service that creates completely custom websites and helps with building content and publication workflows. (More information...)
Typical User: Large projects or organizations in need of a publishing option beyond what’s possible with Sites Pro.
Cost: Variable, but generally expensive
Essentially standalone servers that allow complete software customization for setting up research and publishing solutions.
Typical User: Users or groups with a high level of technical expertise and the capacity to maintain both the server and publishing software.
Cost: VCM & RAPID VMs are free (time-limited, experimental, user-maintained). VMWare hosting*** is paid (extra storage and RAM, long-term use, optional OIT administration and support). OIT support ranges from $170-585 / yr. Storage and support prices are available at https://oit.duke.edu/help/articles/kb0025194.
***VMWare hosting support will be discontinued April 1, 2026. OIT will be migrating to a new provider beginning in Fall 2025. Please reach out to OIT for more information.
A service allowing researchers to archive and share important data related to their work. (More information...)
Typical User: Duke affiliates who need to allow long-term access to, citation of, and preservation of their data.
Cost: Free up to 300GB per deposit for Duke researchers (defined as graduate, post-doctoral, research staff, and faculty). Contact datamanagement@duke.edu to inquire about additional storage needs and data preservation for grant applications.
An open-access repository for publications by Duke authors. (More information...)
Typical User: Duke affiliates who need an openly-available location to share dissertations, theses, and other published scholarship.
Cost: Free.
Tools for publishing interactive maps and rich multimedia narratives. (More information...)
Typical User: Scholars who want to experiment with new forms of publication, share geospatial analyses or map-based tools, or collaboratively build interactive maps.
Cost: Free.
Often used for publishing data visualizations. (More information...)
Typical User: Users who would like to create visualizations based on their data and share them publicly.
Cost: Free one year renewable license.
There are many digital tools available for use in the digital humanities, some made specifically for dh and others that can be re-purposed quite effectively for Humanities research. The following lists show a complex variety of tools. Consult with a librarian or with staff at a support center to identify the best tools needed for your project:
