Digital Thematic Research Collections and the Ethnographic Research Process

The project focuses on digital thematic research collections and their reciprocal relationships with ethnographic research processes. It examines this systemic relationship by analyzing two key principles of research collection creation: contextual density and scientific contribution. According to the first principle, a collection should have a high density of heterogeneous contextual connections between its elements. According to the second, a collection should be created as part of the research process and productively used within it.

The project’s goal is to explore the issue of internal structuring of research collections and their reciprocal relationships with research processes in ethnology. Qualitative ethnographic methods (participant observation, semi-structured interviews) will be used in the project, applied to the process of creating the RELIROMA collection, which is based on research into Roma religiosity in Slovakia. The project will provide unique and up-to-date qualitative insights into the principles of building digital thematic research collections, which have not yet been thoroughly examined in domestic ethnology.

Keywords: digital thematic research collection, contextual density, scientific contribution, ethnographic research process