infrastructure that enables a coherent data space for the community. Due to a lack of training, many researchers lack the basic skills necessary to use digital approaches to improve workflows, gain new perspectives from analysing digital data, and expand their source criticism with digital methods. Incentives for data publication are lacking, signaling to researchers that they are not benefiting their work or careers. Finally, low institutional support conditions researchers to remain disconnected from necessary FDM efforts.

Use Cases

Historical research uses strategies of source criticism – critically questioning the provenance and context of historical sources, focusing on issues such as authorship, intention, audience and authenticity – that have long been applied to analogue data; however, we are still in the early stages of developing forms of ‘digital source criticism‘ for digitised material and other new types of historical data. There is a growing amount of “born-digital” data, even though work is still mainly done with digitised analogue material. The interface between digital data and analogue material is central to the field.

4Memory promotes the quality of research data in the historically oriented humanities by considering the diversity of data types and formats, various aspects of data quality, technical considerations, legal regulations and ethical principles. Beyond the technical issues of data formats and standards, historical data requires contextualisation, which is at the heart of historical science. A digital knowledge space in 4Memory contextualises digital objects to connect all relevant data – from analogue sources to digital presentation of research results – and to promote transparency and traceability. A solid historical science depends on consistent, careful and cross-cultural application of the “critical historical method” as the basis for historical hermeneutics, historical knowledge production and the communication of knowledge about the past.

4Memory helps historians learn how to evaluate and reuse historical research data created with digital methods and those based on digital source material. 4Memory will foster a distinctive data culture in historically oriented disciplines by stimulating a shared discourse, supporting the development of new competences and expanding communication tools. 4Memory thus aims to transform the existing traditional division of labour into a digitally integrated relationship through new forms of cooperation between research and memory institutions, computing centres and digital service providers.