ResearchSpace Documentation

Overview

ResearchSpace lets you browse and search the wide variety of humanities data curated by LINCS and available in the LINCS triplestore.

The data includes people, places, and objects from multiple datasets. A single data point is called an entity. ResearchSpace lets you explore the details about a single entity and the connections between entities.

The words data and entity are used interchangeably in this documentation.

You may encounter errors or inaccuracies which are inevitable in large datasets. The relationships you can discover between entities depends on how the data has been modelled. If you have questions about the data or how it has been modelled contact us.

ResearchSpace has two special features: the Knowledge Map and the Semantic Narrative. The Knowledge Map lets you explore the connections between entities in a visual way. Knowledge Maps can be saved as images to use in publications and presentations. The Semantic Narrative lets you insert dynamic Knowledge Maps into a narrative argument.

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• ResearchSpace works best on larger screens. It is not optimized for mobile devices.
• ResearchSpace can be slow to load. Be patient.
• ResearchSpace uses tabs (called frames in ResearchSpace). Many actions in ResearchSpace will cause a new frame to open. You can rename a frame by double-clicking on it. It will not be saved after you logout. To maximize the efficiency of ResearchSpace, close frames you are not using.
• Do not use your browser’s back button or refresh the page. You will lose your work.
• There is no undo function.
• ResearchSpace frames aren't persistent links. You cannot return to the same page in ResearchSpace by saving the page’s URL.

How LINCS Data are Connected

The data in the LINCS triplestore are modelled on the CIDOC CRM ontology. CIDOC CRM is an event-centric ontology. The implication of an event-centred model is that all the important information about people, places, and objects are found on a related event (such as a birth, a death, a creation). Take the example of Florence Nightingale. Her birthplace is not directly attached to the entity Florence Nightingale. You need to first find the birth event in order to discover where she was born. Then we can discover that Florence was born in Florence! Even social identities, like Nightingale's gender as a woman, are represented as events in which attributes are assigned to people. This may at first seem counter-intuitive but makes it possible to reflect complex or changing identities.

Florence Nightingale is connected to her birthplace through a birth event.

Researchers with Data in LINCS

LINCS maintains a distinct ResearchSpace environment for researchers with data in LINCS. In the ResearchSpace (Review) environment, you can edit your data and make changes to your dataset homepage. Learn how to use the editing features available in ResearchSpace (Review).

Create an Account

1. Click Register to create a new account or Sign in with your LINCS account, GitLab or GitHub. Learn more about LINCS accounts.
2. (Optional) If you are a researcher with data in LINCS contact us to obtain editing permissions.

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You may explore ResearchSpace anonymously without creating an account. However, you will need to create an account to save your work.

Browse LINCS Data

Discover the breadth of humanities data published by LINCS by selecting one of the browsing options available on the homepage:

• Browse by Category
• Browse All Entities
• View Datasets

Refine Your Results

You can refine your results using the Search box or the Filter panel.

Use the Search box to find an entity within the set you just browsed.

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• ResearchSpace searches as if there were an "OR" between each search term. For example, Florence Nightingale will retrieve matches on Florence as well as matches on Nightingale.
• Phrase searching (e.g. "Florence Nightingale") is not available.
• Search is not case sensitive. Florence Nightingale, FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE, and florence nightingale all return the same results.
• Search is not word order sensitive. Florence Nightingale, Nightingale Florence, and Nightingale, Florence return the same results.

Use the Filter panel on the left side of the page to explore the options for narrowing down your results by properties.

The filters you select will appear in blue boxes on the screen. To remove a filter, click the x in the blue box.

After browsing by the category People on the homepage, the activity type filter was used to select the activity Composer.

Entity Card Features

By default, ResearchSpace displays the data as a grid of Entity Cards.

Each Entity Card displays the name of the entity and the CIDOC CRM class to which it belongs. The colour stripe on the top of the Entity Card is a visual cue representing the CIDOC-CRM class.

The entity Florence Nightingale belongs to the CIDOC CRM class Person. LINCS assigned a royal blue colour stripe to entities of this class.

The Entity Card includes these features:

View (eye icon): View brief information about the entity.
Explore: Open the Entity Summary Page for a summary of information about the entity, and all incoming and outgoing statements connected with the entity.
Edit: Edit information about the entity. This feature is only available in ResearchSpace (Review) for researchers with data in LINCS. See documentation for ResearchSpace (Review).
Map: Open the entity on a Knowledge Map canvas.

Display Views

In addition to the grid view, you can also display the data as a map, table, chart, or timeline by clicking on one of these options. Depending on the data, these views may or may not be useful to you.

• Map view is relevant for place entities. Click a bubble on the display to view the names of the places in the dataset.

This world map shows the place data in the Ethnomusicology dataset. Ghana is highlighted.

• In table view you can sort results alphabetically by clicking a header in the table.

• Chart view can be useful in some situations. It will show you the distribution of data across different properties. Use the dropdown menu under Visualization Context to select a property. Then choose the type of visualization you want to see (i.e., line, bar, radar, pie or donut graph).

All the creative works in the AdArchive dataset are displayed by type in a bar chart. The chart shows that most of the entities classed as creative works in AdArchive are articles.

• Timeline view only applies to event entities. Scroll through the timeline to view all the years available in the dataset. Select a year and click on the number next to the year. This is the number of events for that year in the dataset. The events will appear in pink in the Vertical Timeline.

All the events in the Ethnomusicology dataset are displayed in blue in the horizontal timeline. The year 1890 was selected and two birth events are displayed on the vertical timeline: the birth event of Jake Salzman and the birth event of Salina Stutzman.

Download Results

To download results, click either the Download csv button or Download json button at the bottom of the screen.

Save Entities to the Clipboard

The Clipboard is a place to save items. You must be logged in in order to save items on your Clipboard for future sessions. The Clipboard is a tab near the top right of the screen. Click the tab to open and close the Clipboard.

Save Individual Entities

1. Click the Clipboard tab to open it.
2. Drag individual Entity Cards (one at a time) onto the Clipboard.

Save a Set of Entities

1. Click the Clipboard tab to open it.
2. Click the checkbox on top left of as many Entity Cards as you want in your set.
3. Click the With Selected box.
4. Click Create New Set.
5. Name your set. Click Save.

Save All Entities

1. Click the Clipboard tab to open it.
2. Click Save as Set button at the bottom of the screen. You might need to resize your screen to view this button. If there are multiple pages of results, this will select and save all of them.
3. Name your set.
4. Click Save.

Save As Search

1. Save As Search saves the SPARQL query that generated your search results.
2. Click the Clipboard tab to open it.
3. Click Save as Search button at the bottom of the screen. You might need to resize your screen to view this button.

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It may take a few minutes for ResearchSpace to add or remove large sets of entities.

Clipboard Features

• Search entities on the Clipboard: If you have a lot of items on your Clipboard, you can use the search box at the top of the Clipboard to find them quickly. The three vertical dots next to the search bar opens a search filter to aid your search. Click the caret icon to display a list of filter options.

• View entities within a saved set on the Clipboard: Sets are collections of entities in a folder. To open a set of entities and view its contents, click on the name of the set.

• View entities as a grid or as a list on the Clipboard: This feature is found at the bottom of the Clipboard. You can toggle between grid view and list view.

• Create a new set (i.e., a folder) on the Clipboard: This feature is found at the bottom of the Clipboard. Click the Create new set icon. Before you can drag entities from your search results into a set, you must first click on the set to open it. You can't move entities that are already on the Clipboard into a set.

• Remove an entity from the Clipboard: Switch to List View using the List View icon at the bottom of the Clipboard. Then you can click the caret icon next to the entity you want to delete and select Remove.

• View Entity on a Knowledge Map: If you're in Grid View, click the Map icon on the Entity Card. If you're in List View, click the caret and select Knowledge Map.

• View a Set of Entities on a Knowledge Map: Click the caret icon on the set and select Explore Set.

• Rename Set: Click the caret icon on the set and select Rename Set. Give the set a new name.

• Delete Set: Click the caret icon on the set and select Remove Set. Are you sure? Yes.

• Reorder entities on the Clipboard: This feature is found at the bottom of the Clipboard. Click the Reorder items icon, then drag entities on your Clipboard to reorder them. You can reorder individual entities, but not sets. When finished, click Save changes.

Select the Reorder button at the bottom of the Clipboard to move entities around on the Clipboard. When finished, click Save changes.

Search LINCS Data

Use the search box on the homepage or in the top navigation bar to search LINCS entities. Select an entity. It will open in a new frame displaying the Entity Summary Page.

Understand the Entity Summary Page

The Entity Summary Page provides details about an entity, including:

• Image of the Entity: If an image exists, you will see it on the page. Click the image for a larger view.
• Entity Type: The class according to the CIDOC CRM ontology.
• Resource Identifier: The entity's unique IRI. The IRI may be generated by LINCS or may come from another authority like VIAF or Wikidata.
• Dataset(s): The source of the entity.
• Summary: This tab shows a summary of information about the entity.
• Outgoing Statements (Entity as Subject): A list of statements where the entity is the subject of the triple.
• Incoming Statements (Entity as Object): A list of statements where the entity is the object of the triple.

An outgoing statement for the entity Florence Nightingale where Florence Nightingale is the subject of the triple.

An incoming statement for the entity Florence Nightingale where Florence Nightingale is the object of the triple.

The Entity Summary page includes these features:

• Copy Link to this Entity Page: Share a link to the Entity Summary page.
• View in Knowledge Map: Open the entity on a Knowledge Map canvas.
• Save to Clipboard: Save the entity to your Clipboard. You must be logged in if you want to save your work for future sessions.

SPARQL Search

Query the LINCS triplestore using the SPARQL endpoint on the homepage.

Create a Knowledge Map

A Knowledge Map is a visualization tool that lets you create a diagram of entities and their connections. Knowledge Maps can be saved as images to use in publications and presentations. They can also be inserted into Semantic Narratives.

This Knowledge Map shows members of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

You can start a new Knowledge Map from any of these places:

• Click New Knowledge Map on the homepage.
• Click the + on the grey bar near the top of the screen to add a new frame. Then select Knowledge Maps.
• Click the Map icon on an Entity Card.
• Click the View in Knowledge Map button on an Entity Summary page.
• Click Activity in the top navigation bar, then click Knowledge Maps, then click Create Knowledge Map.
• Open the Clipboard. Click the Map icon on any of the Entity Cards on the Clipboard.

Add an Entity to Your Knowledge Map

There are two ways to add new entities to an existing Knowledge Map:

1. Drag an entity from your Clipboard onto the Knowledge Map canvas.
2. Search the LINCS triplestore:

• Click > (arrow icon) on the left side of the Knowledge Map canvas to open the Search panel.
• Search the LINCS triplestore using Search entities.
• Select the result(s) you want and drag them onto the canvas.

If a connection exists with entities already on your Knowledge Map, ResearchSpace will draw that connection for you.

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• This search will retrieve exactly what you type in the box. For example, Virginia Woolf, Woolf, Virginia, and Woolf Virginia each retrieve a different set of results.
• You can’t limit your search to a particular dataset.
• The search is not case sensitive, i.e., Virginia Woolf and virginia woolf return the same results.
• Do not use Boolean operators.

A search of virginia woolf retrieves many results including related works, events, activities, etc.

You may find that your search retrieves too many results. Use the Classes search filter at the bottom of the panel to help narrow your search by class. It helps if you are familiar with one of the ontologies (CIDOC CRM, FRBRoo, or Web Annotation Ontology).

For example, type person into the Classes search box. The class Person appears in both the CIDOC CRM and FRBRoo ontologies.

Click the word Person under the CIDOC CRM ontology to limit your search of the triplestore to persons.

Now when you search for an entity, you will only retrieve entities classed as persons in the LINCS triplestore.

The class Persons is selected so when you search Virginia Woolf, you retrieve only instances of persons named Virginia Woolf (not related works, events, activities, etc.).

Add Connections on the Knowledge Map

Each entity on your Knowledge Map has a Connections Box. The Connections Box lists all the incoming and outgoing statements related to the entity. (See Understand the Entity Summary Page for an explanation of incoming and outgoing statements).

If you don't see a Connections Box next to the Entity Card, click on the Entity Card, then click the compass icon to the right of the card to open the Connections Box.

The compass icon launches the Connections Box

This Connections box shows some of the outgoing statements (is current or former member, is subject of, Same As, type) and incoming statements (refers to, was death of) for the person Florence Nightingale. Take note of the icons that represent incoming and outgoing statements.

You can start making connections on your Knowledge Map by selecting one or more statements in the Connections Box. You can drag the statements onto the canvas or use the Add Selected button. To select multiple connections, press and hold the Control (Ctrl) key (or Command key on a Mac) then click the items.

The connections appear on the Knowledge Map and the link between them indicates the direction of the connection.

"Florence Nightingale is current or former member of the Dicky Bird Society" is an example of an outgoing statement from the entity Florence Nightingale. "The Dicky Bird Society has current or former member Florence Nightingale" is an example of an incoming statement to the entity Florence Nightingale.

To get back to the main list of connections, click Connections at the top of the Connections Box.

Add as many connections as you want. Once an entity is on the Knowledge Map canvas it will appear greyed out in the Connections Box.

If the Connections Box is not visible, click on the Entity Card, then click the compass to the right of the card to re-open the Connections Box.

When you are finished, click Save Knowledge Map button at the top of the canvas. It will save to the Clipboard.

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ResearchSpace does not have an autosave feature. If you make changes to your Knowledge Map, you must re-save using the Save Knowledge Map button.

View Connections in the Search Panel

There is another way to view the connections to an entity other than in the Connections Box.

Click an Entity Card on the Knowledge Map to reveal a Filter icon to the bottom right of the card.

Now click the > arrow the far-left side of the screen to open a search panel (if it's not already open). You will be able to see a full list of the entity's connections. You can drag and drop these entities onto your Knowledge Map. Entities that are already on your Knowledge Map will appear greyed out.

The connections for Florence Nightingale are shown both in the Connections box and in the search panel.

Knowledge Map Features

On the top of the Knowledge Map canvas, you will find several buttons and icons:

• Save Knowledge Map button: Saves your Knowledge Map to your Clipboard.
• Force layout (snowflake icon): Arranges Entity Cards in a default layout.
• Clear all: Removes all Entity Cards from the canvas. You cannot undo this function.
• Zoom in and Zoom out: Zooms in or out of the canvas.
• Fit to screen: Brings the Entity Cards back into the centre of your screen.
• Export diagram as PNG, Export diagram as SVG, Export diagram as PDF, and Print diagram (printer icon): Downloads your Knowledge Map in one of these formats or prints your Knowledge Map.

On the bottom of the Knowledge Map canvas, you will find the Expand Navigator button that lets you move you entire Knowledge Map diagram around the canvas.

View Additional Properties of an Entity in a Knowledge Map

1. Click v at the bottom of an Entity Card on the Knowledge Map canvas to reveal a note about the entity. Many entities do not have a note attached.
2. Click ^ to hide the note.

Remove an Entity from Your Knowledge Map

1. Click on the entity you wish to remove.
2. Click the x which appears above the top right corner of the Entity Card. You can remove one entity at a time or use the Clear All button at the top of the screen to remove all entities from the canvas.

Edit the Appearance of Your Knowledge Map

Once you’ve made connections on a Knowledge Map, you can edit how the connecting links are displayed.

1. Click the < (arrow icon) on the right side of the Knowledge Map canvas to open the Connections Panel
2. Click on an Entity Card to highlight it in your Knowledge Map. The Connections Panel lists all connections that exist for that entity.
3. Now you can make any of the following changes:

• Hide all links and labels connected to the highlighted Entity Card: Click the X in the black box at the top of the Connections Panel.
• Show links only (no labels) connected to the highlighted Entity Card: Click the double-headed arrow in the black box at the top of the Connections Panel.
• Show all links and labels connected to the highlighted Entity Card: Click the T in the black box at the top of the Connections Panel.

To hide or display links and labels associated with just one property, find the property in the Connections Panel and click the corresponding X (hide link and label), double-headed arrow (show link, no label), or T (show link and label).

Open the Connections Panel to show the options for editing the links connected to the highlighted Entity Card, Florence Nightingale.

Click the X in the black box at the top of the Connections Panel to remove links and labels connected to the highlighted Entity Card, Florence Nightingale.

Scroll the Connections Panel to find the property was death of to be able to change the appearance of this connecting link.

Click the double-headed arrow next to the prpoerty was death of to show the link with no label.

Create a Semantic Narrative

The Semantic Narrative is a unique feature of ResearchSpace that lets you embed data and Knowledge Maps into a document. You and your readers can engage with your argument and your data in one place. If you make changes to the data, these changes will be reflected in the document as well.

You will need to save entities and/or save a Knowledge Map to your Clipboard before you start.

1. Click New Semantic Narrative on the homepage or open a new frame and click Semantic Narrative.
2. Begin typing text into the blank document.
3. Drag items from your Clipboard into your document as desired. You may first need to move your cursor down in the document by hitting Enter on your keyboard.
4. Save your work with the Save button at the top of the screen. There is no autosave function. If you change the text, click Save again.

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You can interact with the data in the Semantic Narrative but any changes you make to the data will not be saved. If you want to save changes, edit data and Knowledge Map outside of the Semantic Narrative.

This is the beginning of Semantic Narrative called "Identifying the Poetess" writtend by Susan Brown. Susan has embedded an entity into this page of her narrative.

Cite

Cite an Entity

Format: [Researcher Last Name], [Researcher First Name]. “Resource Title.” From Dataset or Project Name. Linked Infrastructure for Networked Cultural Scholarship (LINCS). Accessed Month DD, YYYY. URL.

Example: Meagher, Michelle, and Jana Smith Elford. “A Second Look at Casablanca.” From Visualizing Feminist Networks: Representing Heresies in LOD (AdArchive). Linked Infrastructure for Networked Cultural Scholarship (LINCS). Accessed July 5, 2022. http://id.lincsproject.ca/0VXBuviAxIb.

How to Locate Citation Information:

• Researcher Name(s) are found on the Dataset landing page which you can find by clicking View Datasets on the ResearchSpace homepage.

• Resource Title, Dataset/Project Name, and URL are found on the Entity Summary Page.

Colour and Symbol Key for LINCS Entities

Acknowledgements

Lehmann, M. (n.d.) “Introduction to the Knowledge Map”

Lehmann, M. (n.d.) "Introduction to the Semantic Narrative"