About Case Studies

Case studies are short descriptions of projects that have already been completed or are at an advanced stage of development. Case study write ups are not intended to be tutorials that would allow someone else to complete the same project; instead, they show how different aspects of project planning and execution looked in “real world” conditions.

How to Use this Template

1. Familiarize yourself with the submission process documented here.

2. When you are ready, click the “create a new pub” button on the submission page. Copy and paste this template into your new pub.

3. Give your submission a title. Click on “Untitled Pub” at the top your pub to add a name. Please include “SUBMISSION -” before your title, e.g. “SUBMISSION - Crafting A Necessary Space: The Virtual MLK Project”.

4. Add coauthors as collaborators by clicking the “Sharing” button to the right of your pub title. Use the search bar in the popup window that appears to find your collaborators. Select them from the list of suggestions to add them to the list. To grant them edit access change their status from “View” to “Edit” to the right of their name.

5. For each section in the Case Study Submission Template below, replace the bracketed content (“[ ]”) with your responses to the italicized questions. View published case studies for examples.

   Please do not rearrange, reformat, or remove the section titles or italicized questions. Subheaders within sections are welcome (e.g. in the Workflow section).

   Media are welcome. Please include descriptive captions. You can learn more about how to add media here. If you have questions about how to add media, we can work with you during the submission or editorial processes. Email us at digitalhandbook[at]duke[dot]edu.

6. When you are ready to submit, delete this “How To” and the “About” section above. Click the “Request Publication” button at the top of this page, and email digitalhandbook[at]duke[dot]edu with the following information:

   1. Your submission title.

   2. Your list of authors and preferred byline order.

   3. Which project type(s) your submission is most aligned with (please choose up to 3-4):

      1. Archival

      2. Dimensional

      3. Narrative

      4. Network Visualization

      5. Quantitative

      6. Spatial

      7. Temporal

   4. Your preferred Creative Commons license:

      1. CC-BY - Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

      2. CC-0 - Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication

      3. CC-BY-NC - Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

      4. CC-BY-ND - Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License

      5. CC-BY-NC-ND - Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License

   5. Whether you need assistance uploading/embedding media.

   6. An image that we may use as a banner and thumbnail for your pub.

If you have further questions, please contact digitalhandbook[at]duke[dot]edu.

Case Study Submission Template

[Optional: Embed interactive content or an image. Please include a descriptive caption.]

Team

Principal Investigator(s): [Name of PI, PI’s Institutional Role, PI’s Institution Name]

[List all project collaborators, including names, project roles, institutional roles, and institution names. If this list is very long, you may provide a link to the complete list hosted elsewhere. Formatting may vary. See this example, this example, and this example for different approaches.]

Project URL(s)

Project Website: [URL(s) pointing to project website(s), content, and other resources. See this example for formatting multiple URLs.]

Project Abstract

[1-3 paragraphs focusing on the project’s subject area, the research questions that prompted it, who was involved, and the digital methods you used. Optionally include media within or below your abstract. Please include descriptive captions.]

Time Needed

When did you begin this project? When did you complete this project?

Time Span: [Can be as specific as “Start Month Day, Year - End Month Day, Year” or as general as Start Year - End Year. If the project is ongoing, include “present” instead of an End Date.]

Length: [Number of years and/or months the project took from start to finish, or until present, e.g. “1 year, 6 months” or “5+ years”.]

Outcomes

What is the outcome of the project?

[1-2 paragraphs describing the project’s outcomes. These might include websites, databases, conference papers, publications, performances, etc. See this example.]

Resources

What tools, resources, programs, or equipment did you use for this project?

[This may be in paragraph or list form. See this example, this example, and this example for several possible formats.]

Funding

Please describe any costs incurred for this project, and (if relevant) how you secured funding for these costs.

[This may be in paragraph or list form. See this example, this example, and this example for several possible formats. If you have not received explicit funding, please indicate and point to any existing resources (e.g. on-campus labs/equipment) that made your work possible.]

Workflow

Please give an overview of the workflow or process you followed to execute this project, including time estimates where possible.

[Describe the process your team followed to complete the project. Lengths and formats may vary. Screenshots and other supporting imagery are welcome. We are aiming for a balance between brevity (for online readers) and comprehensiveness (so that others might follow your workflow). See this example, this example, and this example.]

Challenges & Opportunities

What, if anything, changed between beginning your project and its current/final form?

[3-5 sentences. If this question does not apply, please indicate with “N/A”.]

Is there anything specific you wish you had known when beginning your project that might help other people to know?

[3-5 sentences.]

Next Steps

Do you have any plans to follow up on this project or work on something similar in the future?

[Describe, in as much or little detail as you prefer, any future plans for the project.]

Publications & Presentations

[List relevant publications and presentations. Please include full citations in a consistent citation format. If you prefer, you can group them by type (e.g. presentations, articles, etc.).