Linked humanities data: The next frontier? A case-study in historical census data

Abstract

This paper discusses the use of Linked Data to harmonize the Dutch censuses (1795-1971). Due to the long period they cover, census data is notoriously difficult to compare, aggregate and query in a uniform fashion. In social history, harmonization is the (manual) process of restructuring, interpreting and correcting original data sources to make a comparison possible. We describe a harmonization methodology based on standard Linked Data principles, illustrate how the size and complexity of the resulting linked data source poses new challenges for Semantic Web technology, and discuss potential solutions.