As we move to implementing EndNote protocols, I have been creating illustrative examples to better bridge the gap between project requirements and user understanding. As stated last week, PowerPoint is better suited to presenting these illustrative examples. The larger display capability of PowerPoint makes it the ideal program for the Excel examples, which require showing the column headers and how to populate the row.
When providing examples, simplified directions and readability are prioritized. Intended for quick reference, the protocol documents are also designed to be “helpful at a glance.” As such, I use visual elements to support these reference goals. Within the Word document, tables organize textual data into an easily referenced format for EndNote encoding. (Figure 1) This method is likely to create more effective datasets by focusing user attention to the specific detail required by the database structure. Highlighting the specific detail which makes the data “work” and explaining why the protocol is necessary helps users better engage with the encoding process.
For more illustrative elements, color coding within the PowerPoint reference document highlights how different elements are to be encoded in the Excel spreadsheet. (Figures 2 and 3) The beginning slides of the PowerPoint outline the purpose and use of the Alt Name, Mentions, and Relationships fields, allowing users to better understand how the fields are intended to be implemented. The latter half of the presentation provides examples to illustrate how these elements are encoded throughout the letter. Color coding examples isolates instances which have specific encoding functions. The examples show how information within the letter is converted into machine-readable data.
Figures 2 and 3 illustrate how letter elements are broken down and compartmentalized across rows to comprise multiple data points. Individuals are grouped based on their place in the network or encounter with others, and these places and encounters are described by the different spreadsheet elements. Figure 2 shows the different cities Travelling Friend Roger Longworth visited and preached in. Encoding the place(s) and assigning the row a specific keyword allows the data to capture an intriguing aspect of Quaker belief and its spread. Many like Roger Longworth felt compelled to visit places based on guidance of their Inner Light—often expressed as “inclinations” or “stirrings” in ‘Quaker speak.’ These are an important part of both Quaker institutional and travel networks; capturing this data allows PRINT to track individuals and potential influences across the landscapes through which they moved. Figure 3 shows how data encoding helps us pinpoint particular places which are loci of activity and encounter, such as Roger Longworth and James Harrison meeting up with George Fox, the founder of Quakerism, at one of five meetinghouses in London.
Figures 2 and 3
Capturing multiple lines of travel and movement is important to creating the networks which connected Friends across the Atlantic. While this encoding protocol breaks up elements of the letter and packages it into data, more work is required on the database end. I cannot pretend to understand the complexities of the database backend, but in short—problems present when multiple lines of travel and movement are assigned to one record. This is true for both the database structure and visualization. Not only will the scale of maps need to be adjusted to provide a closer level of zoom, but new methods for displaying multiple paths within a single letter are required.