Digital visualization as a scholarly activity

Abstract

Thought processes are enhanced when ways are found to link external perception with internal mental processes by the use of graphic aids. Such aids range from scribbled diagrams to sophisticated linkages between thought, images, and text such as those employed by Leonardo da Vinci. These tools allow visual perception to be harnessed in the dynamic processes associated with the creation or discovery of new knowledge. Digital humanists are applying digital versions of these age-old tools in many areas of research, from the graphs generated by text analysis applications to virtual reality models of ancient buildings, methods known collectively as 'digital visualization'. This article begins with a brief review of the current application of visualization in the digital humanities before moving on to establish a context for digital visualization within 'traditional' humanities scholarship. This provides a context for an examination of what is required in order to ensure that digital visualization work is performed with identifiable intellectual rigour. The London Charter is used as a case study for a possible framework for the development of appropriate methods and standards. Digital visualization as a scholarly methodology is discussed and demonstrated as being part of a continuum of established academic practice rather than something that is in some way new, 'revolutionary', or lacking in rigorous scholarly value.