Third-party data for first class research

Title

Third-party data for first class research

Creator(s)

Naylor, John D.

Richards, Julian Daryl

Date

2005

Is Part Of

Archeologia e Calcolatori

Volume

16

Pages

83–91

Language

eng

Rights

CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

URI

http://www.archcalc.cnr.it/journal/id.php?id=404

Zotero BiDiAr

https://www.zotero.org/groups/5293298/bidiar/items/27L4WVJU/item-list

Abstract

The use of third-party data is becoming an increasingly important part of archaeological research but there has been little critical analysis of such data sets, or their use. This paper highlights both the challenges and benefits of third-party data through discussion of the experiences of the UK’s Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded project Viking and Anglo-Saxon Landscape and Economy. It shows that the background organisation and intended audience of third-party data set can greatly affect how the data is collated and presented, and the enhancement of such resources for particular research aims may be labour intensive and time consuming, and should not be underestimated. However, it is argued that the usefulness of third-party data sets outweighs any potential problems which may be encountered, but that there needs to be recognition of these challenges and appropriate training provided for future archaeologists.