Getting Started: 2/1 to 2/8
The first weeks of the internship was mostly setting up and getting settled. Downloading the PDFs of the plays in order to convert them to Word Files and .txt files was the first step, along with downloading programs like Notepad++ and RegEx to start data cleaning. Once the files were ready, I started going through Tamburlaine Part 1, and learning RegEx in order to make the data cleaning process more effiecient. I recorded the code I created to use on future documents. I did this by going through notes of previous students working on this project, and utilizing the RegEx ‘how-to’ guide. I made a list of things to fix and look for, and from there, got to work getting Tamburlaine ready to go!
Total Hours: 6
Plugging Away: 2/9-2/20
This week I have ben working on data cleaning all the plays by March 1st. After a bit of practice, one plays take between 2-3 hours to complete. As I am working, I am discovering new ways to make the process easier and more efficient. For example, in some of the files, there are large spaces before every line that need to be taken out. So to do this, I discovered that holding the Shift key and ALT key will allow me to highlight multiple sections at a time. This may seem like a minimal discovery, but it does save quite a bit of time. As of today, 2/20, I have completed seven out of thirteen total plays. My goal is to get the last six done by Monday, 2/27, and have all the txt files of the plays published by 3/8!
Total hours: 14
Finishing up: 2/21-2/28
This week, I finished the rest of the plays that needed to be edited. After a while of working with the texts and anticipating what each play would need, I was able to cut down the time of each play to 1.5-2 hours each. This was a long process, but was a very rewarding learning experience! I learned how to use Notepad ++ and RegEx, both of which are very useful and I plan on using for future projects! The next steps of this current project is to uploaded and publish the work I have been doing by March 8th. I plan on explaining my process in detail, and describing how I able to cut down time spent on each play.
Total hours: 12
Posting: 3/1-3/7
With all the txt files cleaned and ready to go, all that was left for this project was to post them on the website! After revieing my knowledge of WordPress and the process of posting, I was ready to go. I was able to get all the files uploaded correctly in about 3 hours, spread out over the weekend. I used a posting script, so all the post looked uniform and professional! Going forward, I look forward to starting new projects, either using my design skills for promotional material, or diving back into Tableau and examining the relationoships within each play.
Total hours: 4
First Degree of Marlowe: 3/20- 3/25
After finishing the .txt files, I started working on the networking data from the Six Degrees of Francis Bacon. I took the first degree interactions to Christopher Marlowe and started collecting data on each figure. The original plan was to make a networking map in Tableau to show the connections. Unfortunately, Tableau is not capable of graphing this kind of data, so we shifted gears and now working in Graph Commons. This program allows us to make connections between several historical figures, and add additional information, including links to other websites, within the graph. I am now working on collecting information about each figure that has a first degree connection to Kit Marlowe and formatting the Google Sheets correctly so it will work in Graph Commons. This step of the process should be ready by 3/25.
Total hours: 6
The Next Step
After the first degree connections were made, I wanted to see if I could expand it to the second degree. There are still some things in the first degree that need to be edited, like the bios, but my biggest question right now it how to show different degrees using graph commons. The second degree is going to be a larger undertaking than the first, so mapping out a plan of attack is my next step.
Updating: 4/3-4/10
This week, my focus was cleaning up the bios and connections in the first degree. I added some new essential connections, and made the existing connections more clear. Once this was done, I went into the KMP Networks page and made my graph into a post so it could be tagged and categorized. This will make it easier to find using the search bar tool. I also was able to compile a rough list of the second degree connections to add, and who they are connected to. There are around 150 as of now, but this number will fluxuate as I find more people and take some people off. My goal is to focus on second degree connections that had an influence on Marlowe. As the semester starts to come to a close, my goal is to make the first degree as clean and polished as possible, and prepare the second degree connections to be added at a future date.
Total Hours: 6
Editing
Still working in the first degree, I added more important figures with direct connections to Marlowe. This part is tedious, as there are a lot of people to gather information on and add all thier connections to the graph. The biggest issue I am encountering now is getting the graph to match the Google Sheets. I would add and revise the spreadsheet, but my revisions would not show up in Graph Commons, even after starting a new graph and refreshing the link. An example of this is Thomas Nashe. Originally, he was listed under ‘playwright’ and ‘pamphleteer’. Because he was listed uunder two different professions, Graph Commons think it is two separate people. After correcting this and switching all of his Node and Edge types to ‘playwright’, Graph Commons is still showing two different Edges. I hope to figure out a solution to this before the summer, so that the second stage of this project can go as smoothly as possible.
Total Hours: 5
Setting Up Part Two
After going through and making the first degree as accurate and updated as possible, I cleaned up the graph. I took out duplicate edges, fixed grammatical errors in the blurbs, and added any connections that were left. After that, I started diving into the second degree. I was looking for people who are connected to the first degree, but specifically withing the business of spycraft, writing, or performing. I wanted it to specific enough to make sense and be useful. I left personal relationships out, unless they directly worked together or in the same industry. For sources, I started with the Six Degrees of Francis Bacon, and cross refrenced the people I found with books from the library. During this process, I found some more first degree connections, as well as some interesting third degree connections that could be used in the future. As the semester wraps up, my hope is to set a solid foundation for the summer in order to get as much work done on the second degree as possible. There is a lot of research do to, and the quicker I estalbish a working system to research and add people to the graph, the more smoothly the project will go.
Total hours: 7