Digital Scholarship Research Guide: Tools

The tools on this page can be used to expand, enhance, and share your digital scholarship projects. All are openly available for anyone to use. Most require setting up an account, and some may require programming or technical skills. We offer this list (organized by function) as a starting point - please let us know if have worked with other tools that you would recommend to colleagues.

Please note that the UW Bothell/Cascadia Library does not provide technical support for tools at this time.

Annotation Tools

Popular picks:

Hypothe.is
With the aim of improving the quality of information available for scholars on the web, Hypothes.is makes it possible to analyze everything from blogs and news articles to scientific articles and e-books. Collaborate with others to discuss texts and keep personal notes on what you read. Examples: Science in the Classroom, Live-annotate

Lacuna Stories

Lacuna Stories allows multiple users to simultaneously read and annotate a digital text, transitioning the Western tradition of handwritten annotations to a 21st century format. Annotations can be searched and mapped to pinpoint particular types of responses or follow individual student reading experiences. Lacuna can also support long-form writing assignments. Assignment Ideas

More options:

AnnotateIt
A project of Open Knowledge, AnnotateIt allows users to annotate content found anywhere on the web
Prism ScholarsLab
Described as a tool for “crowdsourcing interpretation,” Prism ScholarsLab is a fast-growing platform for reading digital texts together. Users can highlight sections of a text and view the most popular terms or words. An account is required.
Thinglink
ThingLink enables users to embed clickable links or pop-up content within the photos and videos they create and share online. Free accounts provide basic features, while subscription accounts grant access to premium features, such as 360° video embedding.

Mapping & Timeline Tools

Popular picks:

Neatline

A platform for creating online narrative exhibits using maps, images, and timelines. Neatline is an add-on tool for Omeka, and requires Omeka installation. Examples | Case Studies

StoryMapJS

An open source project by Knight Lab at Northwestern University that lets users tell stories by mapping the locations of events and presenting the map in a slide-based format. Maps created with StoryMapJS have been featured by Al Jazeera, The Washington Post, and CNBC. Examples

Timeline JS

TimelineJS is an open-source tool that enables anyone to build visually rich, interactive timelines. Incorporate media and images into your timeline. Examples

More options:

Community Walk
A simple interface for creating and sharing informational, interactive, and engaging maps. Users can add markers to locations, show photos, add comments, and display interactive media on their maps.
EasyMapMaker
provides the user with an easy, intuitive way to map Excel or other spreadsheet data onto a Google map. Easy Map Maker allows for customized markers and labels and maps can be viewed on mobile devices.
Geospatial Data Resources Guide: Other Mapping Tools
Sources compiled by the UW Libraries' Geospatial Data and Maps Librarian
Google--My Maps
is a custom maps tool that lets the users search for locations, add markers to maps, and import locations from a spreasheet. My Maps is also available on mobile devices and your maps are easy to share with other people.
Leaflet
is an open-source JavaScript library used to build mapping applications that works across major desktop and mobile platforms. Object types include raster and vector types.
Mapbox
founded in 2010, is built on vector maps and provides a platform for customizing maps. Mapbox includes roadway, administrative, transit, and natural features layers. Data is sourced from both open source and proprietary sources.
QGIS
Create, edit, visualise, analyse and publish geospatial information using your desktop or web browser with this Open Source Geographic Information System
Tiki-Toki
Tiki-Toki is web-based software for creating beautiful interactive timelines that you can share on the internet. Incorporate YouTube and Vimeo vids into your timeline.
TimeMapper
is an open-source project of Open Knowledge Foundation Labs that takes your places and dates from a Google Spreadsheet and places them on a map and timeline.
WorldMap
is an open-source mapping application in development by the Center for Geographic Analysis at Harvard University. The site allows users to upload large datasets and overlay the maps with thousands of layers, link map features to media content, and share data.
ZeeMaps
Create and publish interactive maps

Network Tools

Gephi
Gephi is an open source program to explore network graphs and node and link diagrams. The program helps identify clusters, algorithmically arranges the network for readability, and helps visualize change over time. The program also lets you customize the view with colors, labels, grouping, and filtering.

Cytoscape
Cytoscape is a Java-based open source software platform for visualizing molecular interaction networks and biological pathways and integrating these networks with annotations, gene expression profiles and other state data. Although Cytoscape was originally designed for biological research, now it is a general platform for complex network analysis and visualization. Cytoscape core distribution provides a basic set of features for data integration, analysis, and visualization. Additional features are available as Apps / plugins.

NodeXL

NodeXL Basic is a free, open-source template for Microsoft® Excel® 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2016 that makes it easy to explore network graphs. With NodeXL, you can enter a network edge list in a worksheet, click a button and see your graph, all in the familiar environment of the Excel window. Examples

igraph
igraph is a collection of open-source network analysis tools with the emphasis on efficiency, portability, and ease of use. The igraph network-analysis package can be used with R, Python, C/C++. Examples

Visualization Tools

Popular picks:

Tableau
Tableau is a data visualization/business intelligence (BI) software that allows you to drag and drop fields in your data to build interactive visualizations and dashboards. Examples/gallery: Viz of the Day

Voyant
Voyant is an online text analysis program that gathers together many discrete text analysis functions into one program. It can generate a quantitative summary of a document or a collection of documents, including word count, vocabulary density, and most frequently used words. It can also generate interactive visualizations, such as word clouds, trendlines, and node and link graphs. Examples/gallery: Voyant in Research

RAW
RAW is an online visualization tool that allows you to choose from pre-selected visualizations and map aspects of your data to the view. The program focuses on chart types that are more difficult to create with other tools, so line graphs, bar charts, etc. are not available. Limited customization is available with color, size, and sorting, and you can download or embed the vector image you create. Examples/gallery: Video overview

Processing
Processing is an open source sketchbook and programming language for coding in a visual arts context. Both are programming languages that require coding. Examples/gallery: Exhibitions & projects, OpenProcessing favorites, Processing elements

D3: Data Driven Documents
D3 is an open source library of prebuilt visualizations you can apply to your data to create interactive data visualizations on the web. Customizing the view requires familiarity with javascript programming language and CSS for styling. Examples/gallery: Gallery, D3 elements

More options:

TimeLine Curator: a web tool for turning text documents into an interactive timeline
CLAVIN: Cartographic Location And Vicinity INdexer: a web tool for turning text documents into a map of locations
Microsoft Power BI: A BI program for data visualization and reporting
Plot.ly: A web platform that produces D3 diagrams without programming

Website, publishing, and online exhibit tools

Popular picks:

Google Sites
Create your own website with minimal coding knowledge for free through Google Apps. Example: Gsite Gallery

Omeka
Omeka is a free, flexible, and open source web-publishing platform for the display of library, museum, archives, and scholarly collections and exhibitions. There are two versions of Omeka--server-side installation or on a centrally shared server, Omeka.net. Please note that several plug-ins including the Neatline plug-in are not available when using Omeka.net. Examples

Scalar
Scalar is a free, open source authoring and publishing platform that’s designed to make it easy for authors to write long-form, born-digital scholarship online. Scalar enables users to assemble media from multiple sources and juxtapose them with their own writing. Examples: New Media and American Literature, Scalar Showcase

WordPress
An open source project, WordPress is an full content management systems. Use the available plugins and widgets to expand the capabilities of your work. Examples: WordPress Showcase

More options:

Jupyter Notebook
Jupyter Notebook is an open source web application that allows you to create and share documents that contain live code, equations, visualizations and explanatory text.
Twine
Twine is an open-source tool for telling interactive, nonlinear stories

Programming & Coding Online Tutorials

Code Academy
Learn to code interactively, for free
Code School
Code school courses are organize into paths based on technology
code{4}lib
code4lib isn't entirely about code or libraries. It is a volunteer-driven collective of hackers, designers, architects, curators, catalogers, artists and instigators from around the world, who largely work for and with libraries, archives and museums on technology "stuff."
Coursera
Search for free courses covering a variety of programming languages
edX
Search for free courses covering a variety of programming languages
Khan Academy
Learn how to program drawings, animations, and games using JavaScript & Processing JS, or learn how to create webpages with HTML & CSS.
Laracasts
Screencasts for the working developer
Lynda.com
Instructional videos that teach software and computer skills, with more than 1,900 courses, covering animation, audio, video, business, design, photography, programming, and more. Access Lynda.com for free from your public library with a library card and PIN or password:
King County Library System (http://kcls.org/resource/lynda-com/)
Seattle Public Library (http://www.spl.org/library-collection/articles-and-research/computer-skills)
Sno-Isle Libraries (http://sno-isle.org/elearning)
Mozilla Developer Network
Articles that aim to provide beginners with all they need to start coding simple websites
Stack Overflow
Technical Q&A site
TechForHumanities
Sample projects and view DH-related events!
W3schools
World's largest web developer site
Women's Coding Collective
The WCC is a web development community with a mission to narrow the gender gap in technology. We cultivate supportive, no-stupid-questions environments where women can learn, build, and code together

UW Libraries Supported Tools

Need help with UW Libraries supported tools? Ask us!

SimplyAnalytics
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Create maps and tables of demographic, business, and marketing variables. (Formerly known as SimplyMap.)
Social Explorer
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Maps and reports based on U.S. Census and other data sources, 1790 to present.