A major feature of Scalar is its flexible organization system that structures how a research project will be navigated by the user. The two primary ways to navigate through the text are through paths and tags, each of which represent a fundamentally different relationship between the parts of a book or argument. The reader can choose between reading the text in chronological chapter order through paths or according to themes through tags.  As the Scalar website notes, “Scalar tags function in a similar way [to paths], with a key difference being that the tag itself is not just a bit of text but its own full-fledged piece of content” (“Whole-Whole Relationships'').  Paths and tags can be accessed by the user at any point in their reading, so they can explore the project in the sequence that their curiosity or learning takes them.

Linear Navigation

Paths take the readers through the text in a linear sequence separated by chapters.  Each chapter separated chronological order so that the audience can weave through media and draw connections between the parts of the argument.  The pages within the paths can be accessed through the Table of Contents or by clicking the “Begin with...” and “Continue to…” buttons in the corner or bottom of the page.  

This path visualization shows all the paths in the anthology in hierarchical order.  One can click on filled circles to uncover its set of paths and click on the circle again to hide them. The title of each item links to the content, whether it be a media file or page nested within the content.


As you can see the following chapters, “Selections”, “Themes”, “Editor Reflections”, “A Handy Map”, and “Timeline” .  Within the “Selections” chapter, we linked the landing page to each woman writer in our anthology.  Each page contains its own set of paths to weave through the chapter’s individual sections, including the manuscript and annotations. The paths organize the content for users to digest and visualize coherently.  

Nonlinear Navigation 

As another option for organization of content, the tagging functionality is a way for readers to navigate through content in a nonlinear way.  Any page or media file can be tagged by a specific word, opening up space to highlight important relationships, connect media with the text, and cross-reference various themes across time and location within the text.  Users can create their own winding path through the material by following tags rather than paths, exploring particular keywords and connections of interest to them. Creating tags helps creators and users to identify key themes explored in a Scalar book. 

 In our anthology, we linked all the tags together on the “Themes” page to serve as a glossary.  They can also be found at the bottom of each page of content.  As student author Samantha Rusnak reflects, these structural possibilities are most beneficial for complex arguments where relationships are valued, allowing the work to be “ less rigid and linear” (Samantha Rusnak).