Advise and accompany

In order to provide you with the best possible support, we urge you to involve the SCDH from the very beginning of the project planning. A suitable starting point for a non-binding orientation meeting (usually via Zoom) is therefore already the first project idea or outline for a data collection (which will of course be treated confidentially). The goal of the SCDH is to support researchers in the conception, development and implementation of digital projects at the current state of research. In addition to developing generic DH services, the focus is on enabling researchers at the University of Münster to use digital methods professionally. In accordance with the CDH statute, priority is given to domains in the humanities as well as to computer sciences, which receive support from the SCDH. This includes inter- and transdisciplinary research groups with DH relevance.

The Service Center is available to assist as an experienced DH partner:

• in the spirit of enabling self-empowerment through professional consultation

Programming is not always necessary to realize a research idea. The SCDH helps to take a consistent digital perspective on your research project, to find suitable digital methods, to design appropriate workflows or to configure existing digital tools so that they can be used by you in the light of your research question.

• through the project-specific co-application of job equivalents for Research Software Engineers (RSE)

Dynamic software development and data modeling in the support of your project is made possible by delegating Research Software Engineer job equivalents (E13) acquired in the project proposal to the SCDH. The often very different software development tasks required in the course of the project can thus be distributed among several persons and processed and discussed in the SCDH competence team in a synergy-promoting manner. For example, with one position you do not only get one person with necessarily limited competences but the concentrated know-how of the growing SCDH team.

Based on our philosophy, the SCDH supports researchers at the University of Münster in every phase of a research project and, together with you, we look for tailored solutions. Accompanying research, we contribute to competence building in the corresponding working groups through practice-oriented workshops. In the course of project consulting, the SCDH can also carry out piloting and evaluation using sample data.

The SCDH's services for research projects range from writing supporting letters of intent, to text contributions for the technical or digital-methodological part of a grant application, to active cooperation as a project partner. In close cooperation with the Service Center Data Management of the ULB Münster, the SCDH also provides support in planning research data management. However, we cannot take on the supervision or review of theses.

Our service portfolio at a glance

Point in Time	Possible Services
Preparing for the project	Non-binding orientation session (since we work independently of location, usually via Zoom) Referral of further suitable contact persons at the location as well as beyond it Letter of intent Consultation regarding the technical and digital-methodological aspects of a funding application Selection and evaluation of suitable digital methods and tools Development of project-specific digital workflows Joint development of project-specific DH concepts Provision of text blocks for the technical and digital-methodological aspects of a funding proposal piloting of a digital method with project-specific data
Accompanying the project	Cooperation with own position allocation (ULB Münster as co-applicant) Delegation of project staff to the SCDH and creation of synergies with our team Continuous adaptation of the digital method, required tools or project-specific digital workflows Implementation of a project-specific application based on a generic solution
Project follow-up	Consulting on open access publication of research data and papers Consulting and support/implementation of a sustainability concept for the long-term archiving of research data

 

Consultation by the SCDH

The SCDH is the right contact for you and you would like a consultation? Feel free to contact us at scdh@uni-muenster.de. If you would like to contact us for a consultation, please complete and return the following questionnaire in advance. This will help us to better prepare for the meeting.

• Questionnaire

  Basic data

  • What is the (provisional) title of the project?
  • In which department is the project located?
  • Who is involved on the part of the University of Münster?

   

  Project in general

  • Which questions does the project pursue?
  • Which methods (especially in the digital domain) shall be used to answer the questions?
  • Which data shall be used?
  • From which period do the relevant materials originate?
  • How large are the materials to be processed?
  • Are the materials already available in digital form? If so, in what format?

   

  Planned project results

  • How exactly should the digital results of the project look like?
  • Are there already similar projects that can serve as models?

   

  Schedule

  • When is the project scheduled to begin?
  • What is the planned duration of the project?
  • Should an application be submitted to fund the project? If so, until when should this be submitted?
  • Does funding already exist? If yes: Who is the funding body? If not: In which funding line should the application be submitted?

   

  Existing competencies and needs

  • What previous technical knowledge and competencies are already available in the team?
  • What technical knowledge and competencies are specifically needed?

How to find us

Service Center for Digital Humanities (SCDH)
Scharnhorststr. 103–109
48151 Münster

Contact person: Dr. Jan Horstmann
Mail: scdh@uni-muenster.de
Twitter: @ULB_MS_SCDH
Mastodon: @scdh@fedihum.org

 

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The SCDH is located on the 2nd floor of the Social Sciences Branch Library (ZB Soz) building.

Please use the main entrance and the staircase located on the right side of the building.
An elevator is available and will give you ground level access to the offices after a brief arrangement.