Written Artefacts: Research and Ethics - the Data

Written Artefacts: Research and Ethics

Let's consider some of the contemporary challenges addressed by digital tools & methods in terms of research ethics and strategy
  • Social role of cultural organisations
  • Evidencing climate change
  • Demographic shifts
  • Staging social justice activity
  • Combating cultural object trafficking
  • Decolonising
I am sharing here my slides and content presented at the Studying Written Artefacts Conference, hosted by the University of Hamburg, Centre for Excellence: Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, on the 28th September 2023*. 

Written Artefacts: Research & Ethics - The Data


To begin let's consider the ethical guide of the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures drafted by the members of the Ethics group, which you can find by following this link https://www.csmc.uni-hamburg.de/about/ethics.html. There is an excellent focus on FAIR and CARE principles.


Treat the data FAIR and CARE
  • (F)indable and (A)ccessible and (I)nteroperable and (R)e-usable
  • (C)ollective benefit: Data ecosystems should be designed and function in ways that enable indigenous peoples to derive benefit from the data.
  • (A)uthority to control: Indigenous Peoples’ rights and interests in Indigenous data must be recognised and their authority to control such data be empowered.
  • (R)esponsibility: Those working with Indigenous data have a responsibility to share how data is used to support Indigenous Peoples’ self-determination and collective benefit. 
  • (E)thics: Indigenous Peoples’ rights and well-being should be the primary concern at all stages of the data life cycle and across the data ecosystem.


This creates some contemporary challenges to be addressed by digital tools & methods in terms of research ethics and strategy
  • The social role of cultural organisations
  • Evidencing climate change
  • Demographic shifts
  • Staging social justice activity
  • Combating cultural object trafficking
  • Decolonising


Contemporary  challenges addressed by digital tools and methods

To address the digital affordances of the social role of cultural organisations in relation to tools, methods and processes that open use and re-use of collections. Core to this strategy will be collaborating to create, enact or implement ethical frameworks to address inequalities revealed by digital collections or people’s digital engagement with cultural organisations.

Focal points for ethical research strategy:
  • mechanisms for delivering on commitments to equality and diversity
  • responsive tools/methods to understand and adapt to shifting demographics 
  • evidencing climate change
  • co-operative models for working with communities: such as social justice, decolonising collections, repatriation and co-production 
  • methods to combat cultural object trafficking (and fakery)
  • means of improved understanding of digital audiences



Questions, thoughts, issues that arise…
  • How fund small and medium sized cultural organisations and community groups working with digital scholars?
  • Activists are not present, not in the discussion, and not able to garner funds.
  • How do we sustain relationships and develop co-research and co-production with marginalised groups, such as Indigenous Peoples?
  • Inequalities also include sensory needs, digital divides and globalised audiences.
  • Collections may be useful for social purposes (climate change) but steeped in colonial gathering.
  • Lack of reproducibility and transparency of method and collections understanding (provenance, bias, completeness) that impacts confidence in inferences drawn. An issue compounded by machine learning, LLM & AI solutions.
  • Ethics are often conflated with compliance or regulatory framework gatekeeping.
  • Changing ease of access, changes the risk profile.
The ethical approach to these questions is a balance of trust, risk and shared expertise.



Implementing data ethics at University of Hamburg: a university of excellence

A University of Excellence must have ethical research 

Ethics = Culture

Culture > Strategy

Research culture drives ethical and excellent research



The reward of good practice in research data ethics is more impactful research where the benefits to its community are better understood and measured. This can enhance mapping of impact to meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

I also point to the Balanced Value Impact Model as a mechanism for effective measurement of impact.


* I am grateful to Cécile Michel, Professor at Hamburg University, who formulated a number of questions to serve as a guideline for the discussion. Some of these questions referred to the ethical guide of the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures drafted by the members of the Ethics group, which you can find by following this link https://www.csmc.uni-hamburg.de/about/ethics.html.


Location: Hamburg, Germany

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