Provenance: Past, Present and Future in Interdisciplinary and Multidisciplinary Perspective

Abstract

This chapter presents a multi- and interdisciplinary synthesis of ideas about the definition and theoretical conceptualization of provenance, drawing from disciplines such as archival science, law, computer science, library and information science, and visual analytics. Through the lens of these distinct domains, the chapter explores different purposes served by provenance; various ways that diverse fields are capturing, representing and using provenance information; provenance standards and specifications, and a range of open research challenges relating to theorizing about provenance and capturing, representing and using provenance information in increasingly distributed, heterogeneous information eco-systems combining machine and human intelligence. From this blending of perspectives on provenance from different disciplines and ‘interdisciplines’, a rich picture emerges of provenance as a dynamic construct and evolving focus of research.