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• 1 media/1505283b821541de196157757c467ead.jpg 2019-01-04T13:05:44-08:00 Constructing Data 93 plain 2019-02-14T13:37:33-08:00 Constructing a dataset, as Trevor Owens of the Library of Congress explains, "requires choices about what and how to collect and how to encode the information" [1]. 
   

  How and What to Collect

  
  How to Encode Information

  For digital collections, item information is frequently encoded in relational databases.  A relational database is a structured set of data that contains a series of formally described tables from which data can be queried or organized in different ways. This structure enhances searching, browsing, and exhibition functions by enabling users to access items and reassemble collections based on tabular information.
  To create a collection with these functions, you can either build a relational database from scratch or use a digital publishing platform that functions as a relational database, such as Wordpress, Omeka, Scalar, and CollectiveAccess [2].  While building a database may allow for greater customization and processing opportunities down the line, using a digital publishing platform requires less backend labor.
  
  Either way, before getting started you will need to develop a metadata schema for your collection. Metadata, or 'data about data,' "provides a means of indexing, accessing, preserving, and discovering digital resources" [3]. For our purposes, the type of metadata that we are interested in schematizing primarily performs a descriptive function [4].