Pauline JungingerpersName (2023date). “A Feminist Approach to Linked Open Data: Making the Women Film Pioneers Project FAIR.” Digital Humanities 2023 (DH2023), Graztitle·a, GrazplaceName.
Object of study — The metadataterm·dom of a research resource on women in early cinema, and what reusing existing thesauri does to it.
Research question — How can research data in feminist film historiographyterm·dom be modelled as Linked Open Dataterm·dom when categorisation reduces the very plurality and gaps the field exists to record?
Contribution — Reports a reversal: from building a project thesaurusterm·dom to reusing existing ones, and what that cost in categories.
phenomenon · claim-type · cross-domain-transfer · mechanism · claim-relation · replication-status · limitation — grounded in the full text| phenomenon | linked open data for feminist film historiography — “By creating FAIR metadata using the WFPP filmographies as an example, the project explores how the FAIR principles can be applied in feminist film historiography.” | |
| claim-type | method — “Therefore, my project aims to create structured metadata for the WFPP, enrich it with authority data, and link it in a sustainable way to other datasets on women film pioneers.” | |
| method — evidence | — “Second, whereas the initial concept included a manual text analysis and annotation with CATMA to build the thesaurus in a bottom-up approach, the filmographic data is now extracted using Named Entity Recognition and then modeled as LOD.” | |
| research question — evidence | — “How can the plurality of feminist film historiography be accounted for when modeling research data as LOD requires categorization and standardization, and thus a reduction of complexity?” | |
| contribution — evidence | — “While the initial goal of the project was to develop a thesaurus tailored to the needs of WFPP’s staff and users, it became clear as the project progressed that a more promising approach would be to focus on reusing existing thesauri to make the data FAIR.” | |
| mechanism | Reusing existing thesauri rather than building one forces the project's categories down to those that carry across datasets, which is what makes the data linkable at all — “This conceptual shift from developing a project-specific thesaurus to opening up the collection by sustainably linking disparate datasets on women film pioneers had several implications for the project's methodological design.” | mechanisms[0] |
| mechanism | Extraction moves from manual annotation to named entity recognition once the target is linked data rather than a bespoke vocabulary — “Second, whereas the initial concept included a manual text analysis and annotation with CATMA to build the thesaurus in a bottom-up approach, the filmographic data is now extracted using Named Entity Recognition and then modeled as LOD.” | mechanisms[1] |
| mechanism | Existing authority files are treated as objects of evaluation rather than given infrastructure, because their fitness for feminist film history is not assumed — “Third, an important step in the methodology is to analyze and evaluate existing thesauri and authority files such as the Getty Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT), Friend of a Friend (FOAF), Virtual International Authority File (VIAF), Gemeinsame Normdatei (GND), and Wikidata regarding their usability for feminist film historiography.” | mechanisms[2] |
| builds-on | digital humanities work on text as data, digital publishing, categorization practices and metadata (Blaney et al. 2021; Flanders / Jannidis 2018) — “In addition to feminist film historiography, the digital humanities are a central point of reference for this project, particularly approaches that address accessibility of text as data, digital publishing, categorization practices, and metadata (Blaney et al. 2021; Flanders / Jannidis 2018).” | claim_relations[0] |
| builds-on | critical classification scholarship (Bowker / Star 1999; Drabinski 2013; D'Ignazio / Klein 2020) — “How can we incorporate feminist values into the design of categories if we assume that classification practices are never neutral but always entangled with political attitudes and values (Bowker / Star 1999; Drabinski 2013; D'Ignazio / Klein 2020)?” | claim_relations[1] |
| extends | existing work modelling film heritage data as Linked Open Data, including Wikidata case studies — “In the field of film heritage institutions, the modeling of film data as Linked Open Data has been discussed for several years (Heftberger 2019), including case studies with Wikidata (Heftberger / Duchesne 2020).” | claim_relations[2] |
| supports | the position that classification practices are never neutral (Bowker & Star, Drabinski, D'Ignazio & Klein) — “How can we incorporate feminist values into the design of categories if we assume that classification practices are never neutral but always entangled with political attitudes and values (Bowker / Star 1999; Drabinski 2013; D'Ignazio / Klein 2020)?” | claim_relations[3] |
| sense | thesaurus - project-specific: built bottom-up for this resource's own staff and users, which was the original plan — “While the initial goal of the project was to develop a thesaurus tailored to the needs of WFPP’s staff and users, it became clear as the project progressed that a more promising approach would be to focus on reusing existing thesauri to make the data FAIR.” | senses[0] |
| sense | thesaurus - existing and reused: an external vocabulary adopted so the data links outward, which is what the project switched to — “Third, an important step in the methodology is to analyze and evaluate existing thesauri and authority files such as the Getty Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT), Friend of a Friend (FOAF), Virtual International Authority File (VIAF), Gemeinsame Normdatei (GND), and Wikidata regarding their usability for feminist film historiography.” | senses[1] |
| sense | categories - the nine identified for modelling a thesaurus, covering the resource's whole conceptual range — “First, the nine categories initially identified for modeling the thesaurus (person, film work, occupation, place, technique, institution, film genre, theme, and publication) were reduced to four categories relevant to the structured collection of filmographies: person, film work, institution, and place.” | senses[2] |
| sense | categories - the four kept for filmographies, which is what survived the decision to link outward — “were reduced to four categories relevant to the structured collection of filmographies: person, film work, institution, and place” | senses[3] |
| audit | Linked Open Data —operationalised-as→ FAIR data principles — Audit 2026-09-28: DOUBTFUL - read against its span and kept, but LOD serves FAIR interoperability; operationalised-as is the wrong type. — “In order to make metadata interoperable in the sense of the FAIR data principles, it can be made available as Linked Open Data (Schmidt et al. 2022).” | concept_edges[0] |
| audit | Wikidata —is-a→ authority data — Audit 2026-09-28: DOUBTFUL - read against its full span and kept, but the span lists Wikidata among 'thesauri and authority files'; 'authority data' is a variant. — “Third, an important step in the methodology is to analyze and evaluate existing thesauri and authority files such as the Getty Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT), Friend of a Friend (FOAF), Virtual International Authority File (VIAF), Gemeinsame Normdatei (GND), and Wikidata regarding their usability for feminist film historiography.” | concept_edges[1] |
| audit | Virtual International Authority File —is-a→ authority data — Audit 2026-09-28: DOUBTFUL - read against its full span and kept, but is-a rests on the word 'Authority' inside the name; the span is a bare list of resources. — “such as the Getty Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT), Friend of a Friend (FOAF), Virtual International Authority File (VIAF), Gemeinsame Normdatei (GND), and Wikidata” | concept_edges[2] |
| differs in | Named Entity Recognition —contrasted-with→ CATMA — THE AXIS IS MANUAL VERSUS AUTOMATIC EXTRACTION. 'whereas the initial concept included a manual text analysis and annotation with CATMA to build the thesaurus in a bottom-up approach, the filmographic data is now extracted using Named Entity Recognition and then modeled as LOD.' A project describing its own method change, so the two are alternatives for one task rather than rival accounts of anything. — “Second, whereas the initial concept included a manual text analysis and annotation with CATMA to build the thesaurus in a bottom-up approach, the filmographic data is now extracted using Named Entity Recognition and then modeled as LOD.” — “the initial concept included a manual text analysis and annotation with CATMA” | concept_edges[3] |
| audit | Named Entity Recognition —operationalised-as→ filmographies — Audit 2026-09-28: DOUBTFUL - read against its span and kept, but NER is the extraction method for filmographic data; operationalised-as is the wrong type. — “the filmographic data is now extracted using Named Entity Recognition and then modeled as LOD” | concept_edges[4] |
| weight | Named Entity Recognition —operationalised-as→ filmographies — 0.9 — “the filmographic data is now extracted using Named Entity Recognition and then modeled as LOD” | concept_edges[4] |
| audit | Virtual International Authority File —is-a→ authority file — Audit 2026-09-28: DOUBTFUL - read against its full span and kept, but the span lists VIAF among 'thesauri and authority files'; is-a is loose. — “an important step in the methodology is to analyze and evaluate existing thesauri and authority files such as the Getty Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT), Friend of a Friend (FOAF), Virtual International Authority File” | concept_edges[10] |
| for which use | limitation — everything reported: THIS POSTER OUTLINES THE METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH OF THE PROJECT AND PRESENTS PRELIMINARY RESULTS — “This poster outlines the methodological approach of the project and presents preliminary results.” | limitations[0] |
| for which use | limitation — the coverage of the thesaurus: THE NINE CATEGORIES INITIALLY IDENTIFIED ... WERE REDUCED TO FOUR — “First, the nine categories initially identified for modeling the thesaurus (person, film work, occupation, place, technique, institution, film genre, theme, and publication) were reduced to four categories relevant to the structured collection of filmographies: person, film work, institution, and place.” | limitations[1] |
| for which use | limitation — any LOD representation of the field's plurality: MODELING RESEARCH DATA AS LOD REQUIRES CATEGORIZATION AND STANDARDIZATION, AND THUS A REDUCTION OF COMPLEXITY — “How can the plurality of feminist film historiography be accounted for when modeling research data as LOD requires categorization and standardization, and thus a reduction of complexity?” | limitations[2] |
| for which use | limitation — the same scope as limitations[2] - standardisation reduces exactly the complexity the field exists to preserve — “How can the plurality of feminist film historiography be accounted for when modeling research data as LOD requires categorization and standardization, and thus a reduction of complexity?” | limitations[3] |
| for which use | limitation — every reused vocabulary: CLASSIFICATION PRACTICES ARE NEVER NEUTRAL BUT ALWAYS ENTANGLED WITH POLITICAL ATTITUDES AND VALUES — “How can we incorporate feminist values into the design of categories if we assume that classification practices are never neutral but always entangled with political attitudes and values (Bowker / Star 1999; Drabinski 2013; D'Ignazio / Klein 2020)?” | limitations[4] |
| for which use | limitation — anything the data model is taken to represent completely: THE NUMEROUS BLIND SPOTS AND KNOWLEDGE GAPS THAT EXIST DUE TO LOST SOURCES AND THE LIMITED DOCUMENTATION OF FEMINIZED LABOR have no obvious representation — “In the context of feminist film historiography, we also have to ask how the numerous blind spots and knowledge gaps that exist due to lost sources and the limited documentation of "feminized labor" (Hill 2016: 5) can be represented in data-based approaches (Dang 2020).” | limitations[5] |
| duplicate of | limitation — limitations[0] — “This poster outlines the methodological approach of the project and presents preliminary results.” | limitations[6] |
| for which use | limitation — the same scope as limitations[0] - an approach and preliminary results, nothing yet evaluated — “This poster outlines the methodological approach of the project and presents preliminary results.” | limitations[6] |
| replication | untested | |
| limitation | The paper reports only preliminary results; it is a poster describing a methodological approach rather than a completed, evaluated system. — “This poster outlines the methodological approach of the project and presents preliminary results.” | limitations[0] |
| limitation | The scope was narrowed mid-project from nine modelling categories to four, restricting coverage to filmographic data. — “First, the nine categories initially identified for modeling the thesaurus (person, film work, occupation, place, technique, institution, film genre, theme, and publication) were reduced to four categories relevant to the structured collection of filmographies: person, film work, institution, and place.” | limitations[1] |
| limitation | The authors state as an open problem that LOD modelling forces categorisation, standardisation and a reduction of complexity that may not accommodate the plurality of feminist film historiography. — “How can the plurality of feminist film historiography be accounted for when modeling research data as LOD requires categorization and standardization, and thus a reduction of complexity?” | limitations[2] |
| limitation | Modelling as LOD requires standardisation, which reduces exactly the complexity the field is trying to preserve — “How can the plurality of feminist film historiography be accounted for when modeling research data as LOD requires categorization and standardization, and thus a reduction of complexity?” | limitations[3] |
| limitation | Classification is taken to be never neutral, so the vocabularies being reused carry values that are not the project's own — “How can we incorporate feminist values into the design of categories if we assume that classification practices are never neutral but always entangled with political attitudes and values (Bowker / Star 1999; Drabinski 2013; D'Ignazio / Klein 2020)?” | limitations[4] |
| limitation | The gaps left by lost sources and undocumented feminized labour have no obvious representation in a data model — “In the context of feminist film historiography, we also have to ask how the numerous blind spots and knowledge gaps that exist due to lost sources and the limited documentation of "feminized labor" (Hill 2016: 5) can be represented in data-based approaches (Dang 2020).” | limitations[5] |
| limitation | The poster reports an approach and preliminary results rather than outcomes, so nothing here is yet evaluated — “This poster outlines the methodological approach of the project and presents preliminary results.” | limitations[6] |
finding · quantity · variable · definition · key-term — grounded in the full text| finding | The project reversed its approach mid-way: reusing existing thesauri beat building its own. — “it became clear as the project progressed that a more promising approach would be to focus on reusing existing thesauri to make the data FAIR” | content_tags.findings[0] |
| finding | The nine categories first identified for modeling the thesaurus were reduced to four. — “the nine categories initially identified for modeling the thesaurus (person, film work, occupation, place, technique, institution, film genre, theme, and publication) were reduced to four categories” | content_tags.findings[1] |
| finding | the resource's own use of metadata had been very limited — “WFPP's application of metadata has been very limited” | content_tags.findings[2] |
| quantity | 9 → 4 — modelling categories before and after the shift to reusing existing thesauri — “First, the nine categories initially identified for modeling the thesaurus (person, film work, occupation, place, technique, institution, film genre, theme, and publication) were reduced to four categories relevant to the structured collection of filmographies: person, film work, institution, and place.” | content_tags.quantities[0] |
| quantity | nine categories reduced to four — the concrete cost of switching from a bespoke thesaurus to reusable vocabularies — “First, the nine categories initially identified for modeling the thesaurus (person, film work, occupation, place, technique, institution, film genre, theme, and publication) were reduced to four categories relevant to the structured collection of filmographies: person, film work, institution, and place.” | content_tags.quantities[1] |
| definition | Women Film Pioneers Project — “The Women Film Pioneers Project (WFPP) is an established online resource for research on women in early cinema.” | content_tags.definitions[0] |
| key-terms | Linked Open Data, FAIR, authority data, thesaurus, metadata, interoperability, Wikidata, FAIR data principles, structured metadata, Named Entity Recognition, feminist film historiography, categorization, blind spots, feminized labor, Semantic Web |
| concept | authority file — “an important step in the methodology is to analyze and evaluate existing thesauri and authority files such as the Getty Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT), Friend of a Friend (FOAF), Virtual International Authority File” | concepts[2] |
| concept | Virtual International Authority File — not defined in this paper's own words; an authority file evaluated for use — “an important step in the methodology is to analyze and evaluate existing thesauri and authority files such as the Getty Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT), Friend of a Friend (FOAF), Virtual International Authority File” | concepts[12] |
| claim type | method — a second reading reaching the same value; recorded: method — “This poster outlines the methodological approach of the project and presents preliminary results.” | alternatives.claim_type |
| phenomenon | linked open data for feminist film historiography — a second reading reaching the same value; recorded: linked open data for feminist film historiography — “Therefore, my project aims to create structured metadata for the WFPP, enrich it with authority data, and link it in a sustainable way to other datasets on women film pioneers.” | alternatives.phenomenon |
Full text — tagged
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Introduction The Women Film Pioneers Projectterm·dom (WFPP) is an established online resource for research on women in early cinema. The project focuses on telling individual stories of women film pioneers and making blind spotsterm·dom visible in order to draw attention to the major role played by women in the early days of film history (Gaines et al. n.d.). Initially conceived in the early 1990s as a classic book project, in 2013 the WFPP was published as a digital platform with three primary goals: to make research findings available, to stimulate further research, and to challenge traditional film historical narratives that fail to mention women's contributions. However, although structured metadataterm·mth is central to making research data and digital publications visible, accessible, and reusable (Baca 2016; Flanders / Jannidis 2018), WFPP's application of metadataterm·dom has been very limited. Therefore, my project aims to create structured metadataterm·mth for the WFPP, enrich it with authority dataterm·mth, and link it in a sustainable way to other datasets on women film pioneers.
Related work In addition to feminist film historiographyterm·dom, the digital humanities are a central point of reference for this project, particularly approaches that address accessibility of text as data, digital publishing, categorizationterm·dom practices, and metadataterm·dom (Blaney et al. 2021; Flanders / Jannidis 2018). In order to make metadataterm·dom interoperable in the sense of the FAIR data principlesterm·mth, it can be made available as Linked Open Dataterm·dom (Schmidt et al. 2022). In the field of film heritage institutions, the modeling of film data as Linked Open Dataterm·dom has been discussed for several years (Heftberger 2019), including case studies with Wikidataterm·mth (Heftberger / Duchesne 2020).
Methodology While the initial goal of the project was to develop a thesaurusterm·dom tailored to the needs of WFPP’s staff and users, it became clear as the project progressed that a more promising approach would be to focus on reusing existing thesauri to make the data FAIRterm·key. This conceptual shift from developing a project-specific thesaurusterm·dom to opening up the collection by sustainably linking disparate datasets on women film pioneers had several implications for the project's methodological design. First, the nine categories initially identified for modeling the thesaurusterm·dom (person, film work, occupation, place, technique, institution, film genre, theme, and publication) were reduced to four categories relevant to the structured collection of filmographiesterm·dom: person, film work, institution, and place. By creating FAIRterm·key metadataterm·dom using the WFPP filmographiesterm·dom as an example, the project explores how the FAIR principlesterm·dom can be applied in feminist film historiographyterm·dom. Second, whereas the initial concept included a manual text analysis and annotation with CATMAterm·mth to build the thesaurusterm·dom in a bottom-up approach, the filmographic data is now extracted using Named Entity Recognitionterm·mth and then modeled as LOD. Third, an important step in the methodology is to analyze and evaluate existing thesauri and authority filesterm·dom such as the Getty Art & Architecture Thesaurusterm·mth (AAT), Friend of a Friendterm·mth (FOAF), Virtual International Authority Fileterm·mth (VIAF), Gemeinsame Normdateiterm·mth (GND), and Wikidataterm·mth regarding their usability for feminist film historiographyterm·dom.
Critical reflection From a feminist perspective, when working with Linked Open Dataterm·dom, it is important to ask what assumptions, biases, and power relations are inscribed in Semantic Webterm·mth technologies as well as in authority filesterm·dom and vocabularies. Furthermore, it also involves an examination of the epistemic conditions of a structured data approach and a reflection on the specific requirements of feminist film historiographyterm·dom for applying the FAIR data principlesterm·mth. How can the plurality of feminist film historiographyterm·dom be accounted for when modeling research data as LOD requires categorizationterm·dom and standardization, and thus a reduction of complexity? How can we incorporate feminist values into the design of categories if we assume that classification practices are never neutral but always entangled with political attitudes and values (Bowker / Star 1999; Drabinski 2013; D'Ignazio / Klein 2020)? In the context of feminist film historiographyterm·dom, we also have to ask how the numerous blind spotsterm·dom and knowledge gaps that exist due to lost sources and the limited documentation of "feminized laborterm·dom" (Hill 2016: 5) can be represented in data-based approaches (Dang 2020).
This poster outlines the methodological approach of the project and presents preliminary results.
Acknowledgements This project is carried out within the framework of the BMBF-funded research group “Aesthetics of Access. Visualizing Research Data on Women in Film History (DAVIF)”.
Project website: https://www.uni-marburg.de/en/fb09/institutes/media-studies/research/research-projects/davif [01.05.2023].