Bridging digital history methods and source criticism : A research agenda for the study of inquisition records
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2025 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Acta Historica Tallinnensia |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | ZBÍRAL, David; Kaarel SIKK and Robert Laurence John SHAW. Bridging digital history methods and source criticism : A research agenda for the study of inquisition records. Acta Historica Tallinnensia. 2025, vol. 31, No 1, p. 46-72. ISSN 1406-2925. Available from: https://doi.org/10.3176/hist.2025.1.02. |
| web | full text of the article |
| Doi | https://doi.org/10.3176/hist.2025.1.02 |
| Keywords | digital history; computer-assisted source criticism; computational modelling; data analysis; inquisition records; information extraction for history; Large Language Models (LLM) |
| Attached files | |
| Description | We outline the benefits of computational modelling approaches for extracting and analysing data derived from inquisition records, while also highlighting some drawbacks of digital history methods and the dangers of their superficial application. Most crucially, we propose ways of integrating those methods with source criticism. If source-critical information feeds into the analysis itself as data, computational modelling can improve the precision of argumentation, make assumptions and limitations more transparent, and allow digital methods to enhance the discipline of history at its core, paving the way for a genuine 'source criticism 2.0'. |
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