Counting costs: the categorization of eighteenth-century theatrical expenditure for the Theatronomics database.
Saved in:
| Title: | Counting costs: the categorization of eighteenth-century theatrical expenditure for the Theatronomics database. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Shipp, Leo1 (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Digital Scholarship in the Humanities. Sep2026, Vol. 41 Issue 3, p1672-1688. 17p. |
| Subjects: | Classification, Database design, Digital humanities, Cost, Performing arts, Financial databases, English drama |
| Geographic Terms: | London (England) |
| Abstract: | The design and implementation of categories is an important part of digital humanities research, for which theoretical discussion is still relatively underdeveloped. This article presents an instructive case study from the Theatronomics project: the categorization of some 159,000 items of theatrical expenditure recorded 1732–1809. It explores the key considerations involved in categorizing financial data for a database; explains why the team adopted a pragmatic–explorative method, highly manual in nature; illustrates the major problems confronted during the process; and offers suggestions for further thinking on, and enacting of, digital humanities categorization. It advances three main arguments. First, categorization is not a 'natural' or 'common-sense' process. Scholars working on databases should consider the multiple different methods of categorization available, and the various and sometimes contradictory principles involved in categorization, before designing a method that aligns with their project's aims, sources, and resources. Second, scholars should assess the uncertainty in their dataset, and consider how to represent it in their categorization model. Third, a model that involves multiple layers of categories can be effective in solving some of the key problems involved in categorization. This article also explains how Theatronomics's expenses data, categorized in accordance with those three arguments, contributes to scholarship on Georgian theatre, Georgian business, and Georgian London. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Digital Scholarship in the Humanities is the property of Oxford University Press / USA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Engineering Source |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
|---|---|
| Header | DbId: egs DbLabel: Engineering Source An: 196803902 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
| IllustrationInfo | |
| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Counting costs: the categorization of eighteenth-century theatrical expenditure for the Theatronomics database. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Shipp%2C+Leo%22">Shipp, Leo</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Digital+Scholarship+in+the+Humanities%22">Digital Scholarship in the Humanities</searchLink>. Sep2026, Vol. 41 Issue 3, p1672-1688. 17p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Classification%22">Classification</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Database+design%22">Database design</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Digital+humanities%22">Digital humanities</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cost%22">Cost</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Performing+arts%22">Performing arts</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Financial+databases%22">Financial databases</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22English+drama%22">English drama</searchLink> – Name: SubjectGeographic Label: Geographic Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22London+%28England%29%22">London (England)</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: The design and implementation of categories is an important part of digital humanities research, for which theoretical discussion is still relatively underdeveloped. This article presents an instructive case study from the Theatronomics project: the categorization of some 159,000 items of theatrical expenditure recorded 1732–1809. It explores the key considerations involved in categorizing financial data for a database; explains why the team adopted a pragmatic–explorative method, highly manual in nature; illustrates the major problems confronted during the process; and offers suggestions for further thinking on, and enacting of, digital humanities categorization. It advances three main arguments. First, categorization is not a 'natural' or 'common-sense' process. Scholars working on databases should consider the multiple different methods of categorization available, and the various and sometimes contradictory principles involved in categorization, before designing a method that aligns with their project's aims, sources, and resources. Second, scholars should assess the uncertainty in their dataset, and consider how to represent it in their categorization model. Third, a model that involves multiple layers of categories can be effective in solving some of the key problems involved in categorization. This article also explains how Theatronomics's expenses data, categorized in accordance with those three arguments, contributes to scholarship on Georgian theatre, Georgian business, and Georgian London. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Digital Scholarship in the Humanities is the property of Oxford University Press / USA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=egs&AN=196803902 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1093/llc/fqag077 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 17 StartPage: 1672 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Classification Type: general – SubjectFull: Database design Type: general – SubjectFull: Digital humanities Type: general – SubjectFull: Cost Type: general – SubjectFull: Performing arts Type: general – SubjectFull: Financial databases Type: general – SubjectFull: English drama Type: general – SubjectFull: London (England) Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Counting costs: the categorization of eighteenth-century theatrical expenditure for the Theatronomics database. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Shipp, Leo IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 09 Text: Sep2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 2055768X Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 41 – Type: issue Value: 3 Titles: – TitleFull: Digital Scholarship in the Humanities Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
