Transformations. A DARIAH Journal

Transformations. A DARIAH Journal is a Diamond Open Access Journal based on open peer review and created in 2024 by the European research infrastructure DARIAH ERIC.

This journal is a multilingual publication with thematic annual issues in Digital Humanities, humanities, social sciences, and the arts. The journal is particularly interested in the use of digital tools, methods, and resources in a reproducible approach. It welcomes scientific contributions on collections of data, workflows and software analysis and prioritises the integrity, reproducibility and sustainability of research practices in the arts and humanities.

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Introduction to volume 2, "The Past" (Transformations. A DARIAH Journal)
Publication
This is the introduction to volume 2 on “The Past” published in Transformations. A DARIAH Journal in September 2026.
Go to resource: Introduction to volume 2, "The Past" (Transformations. A DARIAH Journal)
Storied Statistics: Behind the Numbers of Indonesian Mecca Pilgrims (1851–2016)
Publication
AbstractThis article examines a historical dataset of Indonesian pilgrims traveling to Mecca between 1851 and 2016 to reflect upon the epistemological and political dimensions of quantification. Drawing on debates in digital humanities and critical data studies, it makes the case that quantitative historical data, and statistics in particular, are neither self-evident nor neutral but deeply embedded in changing worldviews and governance practices. While this seems to be widely accepted in terms of multimodal qualitative data, quantitative datasets are often perceived misleadingly as straightforward, with little discussion on how the numbers are produced. In this article, with this specific case, I argue that historical quantitative data should be treated in the same critical way. Using the concept of “storied statistics”, the study discusses how colonial authorities monitored the Hajj pilgrimage to prevent anti-colonial sentiment, later reframing it as a story of prosperity. By tracing the entanglement of Hajj statistical records with colonial and post-colonial agendas, the article argues that quantitative data must approached with the same scrutiny as qualitative data.
Go to resource: Storied Statistics: Behind the Numbers of Indonesian Mecca Pilgrims (1851–2016)
GRETIL: Integrating Indology's Largest Corpus into the TextGrid Repository (Preprint)
Publication
Go to resource: GRETIL: Integrating Indology's Largest Corpus into the TextGrid Repository (Preprint)
Using Bibliographic Data for Historical Research – Two Workflows for the VD17 Catalogue
Publication
Library catalogues have been recognised as an important source for studying book production and knowledge exchange. The bibliographic data stored within them is increasingly regarded as research data for quantitative analysis. This data, however, presents researchers with challenges, since they are using it for purposes different from those originally intended. This paper identifies some of these challenges and presents practical solutions used to address them through two exemplary workflows that leverage the potential of the Verzeichnis der im deutschen Sprachraum erschienenen Drucke des 17. Jahrhunderts (VD17), or German retrospective national bibliography for the seventeenth century. These workflows illuminate the ways in which the VD17 metadata standard and scholarly interventions to facilitate use of bibliographic data for historical research can shape our view of the past.
Go to resource: Using Bibliographic Data for Historical Research – Two Workflows for the VD17 Catalogue
The Wikibase Ecosystem in DH and GLAM
Publication
DARIAH-EU Working Group DHwiki presents this White Paper about Wikibase and the Wikibase Ecosystem as a digest of its permanent activity in providing documentation about MediaWiki-based software solutions to researchers. The output of the Working group is accessible on its Wikibase instance at https://dhwiki.wikibase.cloud. As diverse as the Working Group itself is the target group of this report: DH researchers, GLAM institutions, contributors to the software platforms provided by Wikimedia, and software developers. When starting to engage with Wikidata and Wikibase, we have seen ourselves sometimes lost in a diverse landscape of disperse documentation resources with different scope and aimed at differently skilled readers. With this contribution, we hope to provide a comfortable pathway towards adopting Wikibase in FAIR Linked Data publishing and collaborative data curation workflows. Abstract (Italian) RiassuntoIl gruppo di lavoro DARIAH-EU DHwiki presenta questo white paper come introduzione pratica a Wikibase e al più ampio ecosistema Wikibase per ricercatori, professionisti del settore GLAM (Gallerie, Biblioteche, Archivi e Musei), collaboratori delle piattaforme legate a Wikimedia e sviluppatori software che lavorano con dati strutturati e riutilizzabili. Il lavoro del gruppo è documentato attraverso la propria istanza Wikibase all’indirizzo https://dhwiki.wikibase.cloud. Sebbene esista una grande quantità di documentazione su Wikibase e Wikidata, essa è frammentata su diverse piattaforme, varia per ampiezza di contenuti ed è scritta per lettori con diversi livelli di competenze tecniche. Tutto ciò può rendere difficile, specialmente per i neofiti nel contesto delle Digital Humanities (DH) e del settore GLAM, identificare i concetti, gli strumenti e i flussi di lavoro più pertinenti. Per far fronte a questo scenario, l’articolo affronta assieme i principali elementi dell’ecosistema Wikibase con un focus specifico sui casi d’uso in ambito DH e GLAM. Vengono illustrate la struttura principale e le funzionalità di Wikibase, discussi processi chiave come il data round-tripping e la riconciliazione dei dati, ed esaminato il ruolo di Wikidata e Wikibase nella gestione di identificativi, dati di autorità (authority data) e vocabolari controllati. Con la sua trattazione organica di tutti questi aspetti, l’articolo mira a supportare l’uso di Wikibase in flussi di lavoro di dati collaborativi e conformi ai principi FAIR, richiamando al contempo l’attenzione su questioni più ampie quali la sostenibilità, la governance e il riutilizzo.
Go to resource: The Wikibase Ecosystem in DH and GLAM
Supporting executable scientific workflows in a clustered Infrastructure: DARIAH-IT and H2IOSC
Publication
Workflows have become essential in digital humanities, enabling the formalisation, automation and reproducibility of complex research processes. As the humanities increasingly adopt data-driven methodologies, workflows offer structured approaches to manage diverse data and tools while supporting transparency and collaboration. Recognising this need, DARIAH-IT has advanced research infrastructure development by focusing on workflow-based services within the H2IOSC (Humanities and Cultural Heritage Italian Open Science Cloud) project. DARIAH-IT leads the design and implementation of a national cloud system to support digital humanities research, ensuring interoperability, FAIR data practices and semantic integration across disciplines. Central to DARIAH-IT’s effort within H2IOSC is AEON (dAriah sErvice Oriented iNfrastructure), a platform that enables the creation, execution and management of scientific workflows. AEON integrates service provisioning, semantic validation and runtime orchestration, supporting reproducible research and collaborative practices.
Go to resource: Supporting executable scientific workflows in a clustered Infrastructure: DARIAH-IT and H2IOSC

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The Wikibase Ecosystem in DH and GLAM

Publication

DARIAH-EU Working Group DHwiki presents this White Paper about Wikibase and the Wikibase Ecosystem as a digest of its permanent activity in providing documentation about MediaWiki-based software solutions to researchers. The output of the Working group is accessible on its Wikibase instance at https://dhwiki.wikibase.cloud. As diverse as the Working Group itself is the target group of this report: DH researchers, GLAM institutions, contributors to the software platforms provided by Wikimedia, and software developers. When starting to engage with Wikidata and Wikibase, we have seen ourselves sometimes lost in a diverse landscape of disperse documentation resources with different scope and aimed at differently skilled readers. With this contribution, we hope to provide a comfortable pathway towards adopting Wikibase in FAIR Linked Data publishing and collaborative data curation workflows. Abstract (Italian) RiassuntoIl gruppo di lavoro DARIAH-EU DHwiki presenta questo white paper come introduzione pratica a Wikibase e al più ampio ecosistema Wikibase per ricercatori, professionisti del settore GLAM (Gallerie, Biblioteche, Archivi e Musei), collaboratori delle piattaforme legate a Wikimedia e sviluppatori software che lavorano con dati strutturati e riutilizzabili. Il lavoro del gruppo è documentato attraverso la propria istanza Wikibase all’indirizzo https://dhwiki.wikibase.cloud. Sebbene esista una grande quantità di documentazione su Wikibase e Wikidata, essa è frammentata su diverse piattaforme, varia per ampiezza di contenuti ed è scritta per lettori con diversi livelli di competenze tecniche. Tutto ciò può rendere difficile, specialmente per i neofiti nel contesto delle Digital Humanities (DH) e del settore GLAM, identificare i concetti, gli strumenti e i flussi di lavoro più pertinenti. Per far fronte a questo scenario, l’articolo affronta assieme i principali elementi dell’ecosistema Wikibase con un focus specifico sui casi d’uso in ambito DH e GLAM. Vengono illustrate la struttura principale e le funzionalità di Wikibase, discussi processi chiave come il data round-tripping e la riconciliazione dei dati, ed esaminato il ruolo di Wikidata e Wikibase nella gestione di identificativi, dati di autorità (authority data) e vocabolari controllati. Con la sua trattazione organica di tutti questi aspetti, l’articolo mira a supportare l’uso di Wikibase in flussi di lavoro di dati collaborativi e conformi ai principi FAIR, richiamando al contempo l’attenzione su questioni più ampie quali la sostenibilità, la governance e il riutilizzo.

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Transformations. A DARIAH Journal

Discover the latest resources

Introduction to volume 2, "The Past" (Transformations. A DARIAH Journal)

Storied Statistics: Behind the Numbers of Indonesian Mecca Pilgrims (1851–2016)

GRETIL: Integrating Indology's Largest Corpus into the TextGrid Repository (Preprint)

Using Bibliographic Data for Historical Research – Two Workflows for the VD17 Catalogue

The Wikibase Ecosystem in DH and GLAM

Supporting executable scientific workflows in a clustered Infrastructure: DARIAH-IT and H2IOSC

Introduction to volume 2, "The Past" (Transformations. A DARIAH Journal)

Storied Statistics: Behind the Numbers of Indonesian Mecca Pilgrims (1851–2016)

GRETIL: Integrating Indology's Largest Corpus into the TextGrid Repository (Preprint)

Using Bibliographic Data for Historical Research – Two Workflows for the VD17 Catalogue

The Wikibase Ecosystem in DH and GLAM

Supporting executable scientific workflows in a clustered Infrastructure: DARIAH-IT and H2IOSC