Opacity in Digital Databases and Historical Research
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22478/ufpb.2317-6725.2021v26n45.58641Keywords:
Digital Databases, History, Digital Humanities, OpacityAbstract
Considering the pervasive role of computing and internet, the questions of accessibility and availability of resources, collections, etc., more than ever occupy a central space in the discussions of academic circles. Here, we focus the digital tools that are available to historians, a discussion, barely carried out in Brazil, concerning the development and usage of Digital Databases for Historical Research. The present article proposes to discuss the specific problematic related to the concept of opacity, which is found in the project phase itself of the development of databases, observing how it impacts silently, but fundamentally, in the possibilities of research that are made available for users of such databases. Therefore, we begin with a theoretical discussion concerning the constitution, development and usages of digital databases, and follow it with an analysis of real examples, demonstrating the issues related to opacity.
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