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 +HOW TO USE THE DATABASE WOMENWRITERS
 +Instructions d.d. 12-2-2010
 +
 +These instructions are addressed to colleagues and students who want to have the advantage of using this electronic tool in view of their own research. For information about the project in which the database is functioning, see www.womenwriters.nl.
 +Thanks to a recent update, the database’s use is even easier than it was before. Yet we provide here real step-by-step instructions: when following these, normally you would become quickly familiar with the instrument. The text may seem a bit long: this is because I have mentioned each of the steps, although they are all really small.
 +If problems are still rising, please take contact, either by e-mail (suzan.van.dijk@huygensinstituut.knaw) or by phone.
 +
 +There are 4 different ways of using this database:
 +1. You just want to check/find some factual information (passive use of WW as a resource database) about one of the 2700 authors it contains – note that when speaking of authors, we mean only female authors: the list of authors’ names does not contain names of men, apart from those using female pseudonyms.
 +2. You want to have an impression of or compare numbers of authors, genres, types of reception etc. (using WW, or preparing its use, as a research database).
 +3. You have information that you want to add into existing records, either to use the tool for your own research immediately, or to communicate information to your colleagues.
 +4. You want to add new records: data not yet present in the database (which for the moment contains much more information about Dutch authors than about others) – authors, works, and new testimonies to reception.
 +
 +1. You just want to check/find some factual information
 +You do not need to log on.
 +Here some examples in order to show how to proceed for each of the three “layers” of the database:
 +1.1 Authors: You want to know/check Jane Austen’s birth date:
 +1.1.1 go to www.databasewomenwriters.nl (the URL moves into http://neww.huygens.knaw.nl/: it is the same database)
 +1.1.2 click “Authors” (top, left)
 +1.1.3 in field “Name” > austen, and click left green button (“search”)
 +1.1.4 below the search part of the screen you see the very short “list”: click the name
 +1.1.5 birth date = 1775 (have a look at the whole record) N.B. for many authors exact birth dates are not yet known; in that case a supposed date has been entered – supposition specified as such in the field “personal situation”)
 +1.2 Works: You want to check the exact title of Corinne by Mme de Staël:
 +1.2.1 click “Works” (top)
 +1.2.2 in field “Name” > staël, and click left green button (“search”)
 +1.2.3 below the search part of the screen you find the list of Staël’s works (those present in the database)
 +1.2.4 click “Corinne”
 +1.2.5 title = Corinne ou l'Italie (you could also have gone directly to the work (at 1.2.2) N.B. for many works we only have provisional titles (for instance titles of translations which have been found without the mention of the original title; provisional titles have an *)
 +1.3 Receptions: You want to know if Fortunée Briquet in her Dictionnaire (1804) mentions Mlle Bonafons d'Albert (about whom recently Robert Darnton published a book):
 +1.3.1 click “Receptions” (top)
 +1.3.2 three possibilities:
 +1.3.2.1 in first field “Name” > Bonafons; in the second field “Name” > Briquet
 +1.3.2.2 in first field “Name” > Bonafons
 +1.3.2.3 in second field “Name” > Briquet
 +1.3.2.4 while comparing you notice that 1.3.2.1. gives you precisely the record you need; the two others give larger contexts.
 +
 +2. You want to have an impression of or compare numbers
 +You do not need to log on (but when logged on, you will find more information – as will be clear below).
 +2.1 Authors: You want to know how many French women authors were active around 1800:
 +2.1.1 click “Authors” (top)
 +2.1.2 in the search screen check “female”; in field “Living in year” > 1800; check “France”, and click left green button (“search”)
 +2.1.3 below the search part you have the answer: 197. Note that:
 +2.1.3.1 these are the authors we have found and entered into the database up to now; there are more sources to be checked (the COST Action is just starting...);
 +2.1.3.2 you should take into account that women born in 1799 will not yet have started their writing career in 1800;
 +2.1.3.3 an important number of the life dates are in fact suppositions (and specified as such). In case you are starting a complete study on this material you will have to go into archives, and provide exact information (if possible);
 +2.1.3.4 from this list you can go into the individual records and decide which women are relevant to you.
 +2.2 Works: You want to know how many autobiographical texts were published by Dutch women in different periods (as far as presently included in the database):
 +2.2.1 click “Works” (top)
 +2.2.2 in the search screen check “Netherlands” for Work; “Autobiography”, and click left green button (“search”)
 +2.2.3 below the search part you have the answer: 19. Note that:
 +2.2.3.1 classification in this category may have been done on the basis of the title of the work, or of comments in the press or elsewhere; so this is further to be studied for instance by specialists of autobiographical writing. No conclusions can be drawn about autobiographical aspects in novels for instance.
 +2.3 Receptions: You want to know the numbers of translations of works by George Sand in different countries (as far as entered into the database now; Portugal is being worked on at this moment, for instance):
 +2.3.1 click “Receptions” (top)
 +2.3.2 in the search screen field “Received work – author” > “sand, g”; in field “Reception type” check: “Translation”; “Translation published in the press”; “Women’s press, translation”
 +2.3.3 below the search part you have the answer: 491, between 1833 and 1924, with in this list titles of works and specifications about translators: for women the names, for men indication if names are known (and mentioned in the record) or unknown, for the moment. Note that:
 +2.3.3.1 in the new version of the database, this list does not contain any more the mention of the receiving countries. This is an error! It will be changed back to the previous situation as soon as possible. Comparison between countries is indeed the interesting thing to be used as starting point for research. Solution for the moment: at 2.3.2 check also “Receiving country”, and proceed per country; for instance:
 +2.3.3.1.1 Germany 157 translations between 1834 and 1909 [studied in Wiedemann 2003, cf. Bibliography]
 +2.3.3.1.2 Netherlands 22 translations between 1836 and 1888 [studied by Van Dijk, cf. Bibliography]
 +2.3.3.1.3 Denmark 33 translations between 1837 and 1878 [after the inventory of 19th-century translations into Danish by Munch-Petersen]
 +2.3.3.1.4 England 33 translations between 1842 and 1895 [English translations have not yet been systematically studied and integrated]
 +
 +3. You have information that you want to add into existing records
 +You need to log on first:
 +• click “Login”
 +• enter the username and password you have been given
 +• you will see your own status (records you have added or changed)
 +• nothing changed
 +
 +3.1 Authors: you know the exact date of birth of an author, and want to add it into”her” record:
 +3.1.1 click “Authors” (top)
 +3.1.2 in field “Name” > your author’s name (or part of the name); for now: test; and click left green button (“search”)
 +3.1.3 below the search part of the screen, you find a small “list” including the author searched
 +3.1.4 click the name (test); you will find a record containing some unusual information (for the sake of testing)
 +3.1.5 click the green “Edit” button
 +3.1.6 in the “Edit” screen, you can change the supposed date of birth into the “real”
 +3.1.7 change “years of birth and death supposition” into year of death supposition” and sign (as in svd feb10)
 +3.1.8 click the green “Save changes” button
 +3.1.9 check if everything is OK (if not provide immediate adaptations)
 +
 +3.2 Works: you know the exact title of a work having a provisional title, and want to include it:
 +3.2.1 click “Works” (top)
 +3.2.2 in field “Name” > the author’s name; for now: test ; and click left green button (“search”)
 +3.2.3 below the search part of the screen you find two provisional titles by this author; click on one of the titles
 +3.2.4 click the green “Edit” button
 +3.2.5 in the “Edit” screen, you can change the provisional title into the “real” (without * on the left side)
 +3.2.6 if possible, you may add where you found this title: in “Provisional notes”: “Title according to Catalogue Bibliotheque Nationale de France”, for instance, and sign (as in svd feb10)
 +3.2.7 click the green “Save changes” button
 +3.2.8 check if everything is OK (if not provide immediate adaptations)
 +
 +3.3 Receptions: you know the name of a journalist, registered as “unknown”, writing about “your” author, and you want to include it:
 +3.3.1 click “Receptions” (top)
 +3.3.2 in field “Name” > the author’s name; for now: test ; and click left green button (“search”)
 +3.3.3 below the search part of the screen you find two receptions of works by this author; click on the green button at the left side of the 1795 article
 +3.3.4 click the green “Edit” button
 +3.3.5 in the “Edit” screen, you can change, in the Names table, the indication “journalist unknown” in two ways: the unknown journalist is either a man, or a woman:
 +3.3.5.1 in the case it is a man, you check, in the names table, instead of “journalist unknown” > “journalist name below”. At the left side of the title (provisional or not), you add the man’s name
 +3.3.5.2 in the case it is a woman, she is either already present in the database list of names, or not:
 +3.3.5.2.1 if she is figuring in the list, you change the indication “journalist unknown” into the name of this journalist
 +3.3.5.2.2 if she is not in the list, you have to add her (see 4.1), before proceeding as in 3.3.5.2.1
 +3.3.6 if possible, you may add where you found this information: in “Provisional notes”: “Name of journalist according to [book about pseudonyms by Erica van Boven, for instance – very likely source for this], and sign (as in svd feb10)
 +3.3.7 click the green “Save changes” button
 +3.3.8 check if everything is OK (if not provide immediate adaptations)
 +
 +4. You want to add new records: data not yet present in the database
 +You need to be logged on, and to have really checked if your data are not yet figuring in the database! Note that, as you know, many women authors have several names (maiden names, married names, pseudonyms).
 +
 +4.1. Authors: You have found information about the reception of a woman author not yet included in the database:
 +4.1.1 click “Authors” (top)
 +4.1.2 click, below the search part of the screen, the green “Add new author” button (also called: +)
 +4.1.3 you are in front of a screen entitled: “Create a record for a new author”
 +4.1.4 provide the information required (having seen other records, which have to serve as examples), in particular years of birth and death (real or supposed)
 +4.1.5 check if everything seems OK
 +4.1.6 in field “Provisional notes”: please for any of your first records add this specification: “TEST, STILL TO BE CHECKED”
 +4.1.7 in this same field: put your signature according to this format (svd feb10 which means Suzan van Dijk February 2010)
 +4.1.8 click the green “Save changes” button
 +4.1.9 check if everything is OK (if not make immediate adaptations)
 +
 +4.2 Works: for an author (the one you just entered or another) you want to include a record for a work not yet present:
 +4.2.1 click “Works” (top)
 +4.2.2 click, below the search part of the screen, the green “Add new work” button (also called: +)
 +4.2.3 you are in front of a screen entitled: “Create a record for a new work”
 +4.2.4 provide the information required (having seen other records, which have to serve as examples): checking the tables and adding text into text fields
 +4.2.5 check your information
 +4.2.6 in field “Provisional notes”: please for any of your first records add this specification: “TEST, STILL TO BE CHECKED”
 +4.2.7 in this same field: put a signature according to this format (svd feb10 which means Suzan van Dijk February 2010)
 +4.2.8 click the green “Save changes” button
 +4.2.9 check if everything is OK (if not make immediate adaptations)
 +
 +4.3 Receptions: you want to include for a work (this “new” one or another) a testimony to contemporary reception (before c. 1900), for instance an article written about it:
 +4.3.1 click “Receptions” (top)
 +4.3.2 click, below the search part of the screen, the green “Add new reception” button (also called: +)
 +4.3.3 you are in front of a screen entitled: “Create a record for a new reception”
 +4.3.4 provide the information required (having seen other records, which have to serve as examples): checking the tables and adding text into text fields ), and check your source (in case you are the source yourself check “see below”, which refers to the “Provisional notes” field)
 +4.3.5 check if everything is OK
 +4.3.6 in field “Provisional notes”: please for any of your first records add this specification: “TEST, STILL TO BE CHECKED”
 +4.3.7 in this same field: put a signature according to this format (svd feb10 which means Suzan van Dijk February 2010)
 +4.3.8 click the green “Save changes” button
 +4.3.9 check if everything is OK (if not make immediate adaptations)
 +
 +These are basically the things to be done. You may, of course, encounter difficulties or questions. In these cases, please take contact, as mentioned above.

Revision as of 13:37, 5 March 2010


Instructions for the use of database WomenWriters



HOW TO USE THE DATABASE WOMENWRITERS Instructions d.d. 12-2-2010

These instructions are addressed to colleagues and students who want to have the advantage of using this electronic tool in view of their own research. For information about the project in which the database is functioning, see www.womenwriters.nl. Thanks to a recent update, the database’s use is even easier than it was before. Yet we provide here real step-by-step instructions: when following these, normally you would become quickly familiar with the instrument. The text may seem a bit long: this is because I have mentioned each of the steps, although they are all really small. If problems are still rising, please take contact, either by e-mail (suzan.van.dijk@huygensinstituut.knaw) or by phone.

There are 4 different ways of using this database: 1. You just want to check/find some factual information (passive use of WW as a resource database) about one of the 2700 authors it contains – note that when speaking of authors, we mean only female authors: the list of authors’ names does not contain names of men, apart from those using female pseudonyms. 2. You want to have an impression of or compare numbers of authors, genres, types of reception etc. (using WW, or preparing its use, as a research database). 3. You have information that you want to add into existing records, either to use the tool for your own research immediately, or to communicate information to your colleagues. 4. You want to add new records: data not yet present in the database (which for the moment contains much more information about Dutch authors than about others) – authors, works, and new testimonies to reception.

1. You just want to check/find some factual information You do not need to log on. Here some examples in order to show how to proceed for each of the three “layers” of the database: 1.1 Authors: You want to know/check Jane Austen’s birth date: 1.1.1 go to www.databasewomenwriters.nl (the URL moves into http://neww.huygens.knaw.nl/: it is the same database) 1.1.2 click “Authors” (top, left) 1.1.3 in field “Name” > austen, and click left green button (“search”) 1.1.4 below the search part of the screen you see the very short “list”: click the name 1.1.5 birth date = 1775 (have a look at the whole record) N.B. for many authors exact birth dates are not yet known; in that case a supposed date has been entered – supposition specified as such in the field “personal situation”) 1.2 Works: You want to check the exact title of Corinne by Mme de Staël: 1.2.1 click “Works” (top) 1.2.2 in field “Name” > staël, and click left green button (“search”) 1.2.3 below the search part of the screen you find the list of Staël’s works (those present in the database) 1.2.4 click “Corinne” 1.2.5 title = Corinne ou l'Italie (you could also have gone directly to the work (at 1.2.2) N.B. for many works we only have provisional titles (for instance titles of translations which have been found without the mention of the original title; provisional titles have an *) 1.3 Receptions: You want to know if Fortunée Briquet in her Dictionnaire (1804) mentions Mlle Bonafons d'Albert (about whom recently Robert Darnton published a book): 1.3.1 click “Receptions” (top) 1.3.2 three possibilities: 1.3.2.1 in first field “Name” > Bonafons; in the second field “Name” > Briquet 1.3.2.2 in first field “Name” > Bonafons 1.3.2.3 in second field “Name” > Briquet 1.3.2.4 while comparing you notice that 1.3.2.1. gives you precisely the record you need; the two others give larger contexts.

2. You want to have an impression of or compare numbers You do not need to log on (but when logged on, you will find more information – as will be clear below). 2.1 Authors: You want to know how many French women authors were active around 1800: 2.1.1 click “Authors” (top) 2.1.2 in the search screen check “female”; in field “Living in year” > 1800; check “France”, and click left green button (“search”) 2.1.3 below the search part you have the answer: 197. Note that: 2.1.3.1 these are the authors we have found and entered into the database up to now; there are more sources to be checked (the COST Action is just starting...); 2.1.3.2 you should take into account that women born in 1799 will not yet have started their writing career in 1800; 2.1.3.3 an important number of the life dates are in fact suppositions (and specified as such). In case you are starting a complete study on this material you will have to go into archives, and provide exact information (if possible); 2.1.3.4 from this list you can go into the individual records and decide which women are relevant to you. 2.2 Works: You want to know how many autobiographical texts were published by Dutch women in different periods (as far as presently included in the database): 2.2.1 click “Works” (top) 2.2.2 in the search screen check “Netherlands” for Work; “Autobiography”, and click left green button (“search”) 2.2.3 below the search part you have the answer: 19. Note that: 2.2.3.1 classification in this category may have been done on the basis of the title of the work, or of comments in the press or elsewhere; so this is further to be studied for instance by specialists of autobiographical writing. No conclusions can be drawn about autobiographical aspects in novels for instance. 2.3 Receptions: You want to know the numbers of translations of works by George Sand in different countries (as far as entered into the database now; Portugal is being worked on at this moment, for instance): 2.3.1 click “Receptions” (top) 2.3.2 in the search screen field “Received work – author” > “sand, g”; in field “Reception type” check: “Translation”; “Translation published in the press”; “Women’s press, translation” 2.3.3 below the search part you have the answer: 491, between 1833 and 1924, with in this list titles of works and specifications about translators: for women the names, for men indication if names are known (and mentioned in the record) or unknown, for the moment. Note that: 2.3.3.1 in the new version of the database, this list does not contain any more the mention of the receiving countries. This is an error! It will be changed back to the previous situation as soon as possible. Comparison between countries is indeed the interesting thing to be used as starting point for research. Solution for the moment: at 2.3.2 check also “Receiving country”, and proceed per country; for instance: 2.3.3.1.1 Germany 157 translations between 1834 and 1909 [studied in Wiedemann 2003, cf. Bibliography] 2.3.3.1.2 Netherlands 22 translations between 1836 and 1888 [studied by Van Dijk, cf. Bibliography] 2.3.3.1.3 Denmark 33 translations between 1837 and 1878 [after the inventory of 19th-century translations into Danish by Munch-Petersen] 2.3.3.1.4 England 33 translations between 1842 and 1895 [English translations have not yet been systematically studied and integrated]

3. You have information that you want to add into existing records You need to log on first: • click “Login” • enter the username and password you have been given • you will see your own status (records you have added or changed) • nothing changed

3.1 Authors: you know the exact date of birth of an author, and want to add it into”her” record: 3.1.1 click “Authors” (top) 3.1.2 in field “Name” > your author’s name (or part of the name); for now: test; and click left green button (“search”) 3.1.3 below the search part of the screen, you find a small “list” including the author searched 3.1.4 click the name (test); you will find a record containing some unusual information (for the sake of testing) 3.1.5 click the green “Edit” button 3.1.6 in the “Edit” screen, you can change the supposed date of birth into the “real” 3.1.7 change “years of birth and death supposition” into year of death supposition” and sign (as in svd feb10) 3.1.8 click the green “Save changes” button 3.1.9 check if everything is OK (if not provide immediate adaptations)

3.2 Works: you know the exact title of a work having a provisional title, and want to include it: 3.2.1 click “Works” (top) 3.2.2 in field “Name” > the author’s name; for now: test ; and click left green button (“search”) 3.2.3 below the search part of the screen you find two provisional titles by this author; click on one of the titles 3.2.4 click the green “Edit” button 3.2.5 in the “Edit” screen, you can change the provisional title into the “real” (without * on the left side) 3.2.6 if possible, you may add where you found this title: in “Provisional notes”: “Title according to Catalogue Bibliotheque Nationale de France”, for instance, and sign (as in svd feb10) 3.2.7 click the green “Save changes” button 3.2.8 check if everything is OK (if not provide immediate adaptations)

3.3 Receptions: you know the name of a journalist, registered as “unknown”, writing about “your” author, and you want to include it: 3.3.1 click “Receptions” (top) 3.3.2 in field “Name” > the author’s name; for now: test ; and click left green button (“search”) 3.3.3 below the search part of the screen you find two receptions of works by this author; click on the green button at the left side of the 1795 article 3.3.4 click the green “Edit” button 3.3.5 in the “Edit” screen, you can change, in the Names table, the indication “journalist unknown” in two ways: the unknown journalist is either a man, or a woman: 3.3.5.1 in the case it is a man, you check, in the names table, instead of “journalist unknown” > “journalist name below”. At the left side of the title (provisional or not), you add the man’s name 3.3.5.2 in the case it is a woman, she is either already present in the database list of names, or not: 3.3.5.2.1 if she is figuring in the list, you change the indication “journalist unknown” into the name of this journalist 3.3.5.2.2 if she is not in the list, you have to add her (see 4.1), before proceeding as in 3.3.5.2.1 3.3.6 if possible, you may add where you found this information: in “Provisional notes”: “Name of journalist according to [book about pseudonyms by Erica van Boven, for instance – very likely source for this], and sign (as in svd feb10) 3.3.7 click the green “Save changes” button 3.3.8 check if everything is OK (if not provide immediate adaptations)

4. You want to add new records: data not yet present in the database You need to be logged on, and to have really checked if your data are not yet figuring in the database! Note that, as you know, many women authors have several names (maiden names, married names, pseudonyms).

4.1. Authors: You have found information about the reception of a woman author not yet included in the database: 4.1.1 click “Authors” (top) 4.1.2 click, below the search part of the screen, the green “Add new author” button (also called: +) 4.1.3 you are in front of a screen entitled: “Create a record for a new author” 4.1.4 provide the information required (having seen other records, which have to serve as examples), in particular years of birth and death (real or supposed) 4.1.5 check if everything seems OK 4.1.6 in field “Provisional notes”: please for any of your first records add this specification: “TEST, STILL TO BE CHECKED” 4.1.7 in this same field: put your signature according to this format (svd feb10 which means Suzan van Dijk February 2010) 4.1.8 click the green “Save changes” button 4.1.9 check if everything is OK (if not make immediate adaptations)

4.2 Works: for an author (the one you just entered or another) you want to include a record for a work not yet present: 4.2.1 click “Works” (top) 4.2.2 click, below the search part of the screen, the green “Add new work” button (also called: +) 4.2.3 you are in front of a screen entitled: “Create a record for a new work” 4.2.4 provide the information required (having seen other records, which have to serve as examples): checking the tables and adding text into text fields 4.2.5 check your information 4.2.6 in field “Provisional notes”: please for any of your first records add this specification: “TEST, STILL TO BE CHECKED” 4.2.7 in this same field: put a signature according to this format (svd feb10 which means Suzan van Dijk February 2010) 4.2.8 click the green “Save changes” button 4.2.9 check if everything is OK (if not make immediate adaptations)

4.3 Receptions: you want to include for a work (this “new” one or another) a testimony to contemporary reception (before c. 1900), for instance an article written about it: 4.3.1 click “Receptions” (top) 4.3.2 click, below the search part of the screen, the green “Add new reception” button (also called: +) 4.3.3 you are in front of a screen entitled: “Create a record for a new reception” 4.3.4 provide the information required (having seen other records, which have to serve as examples): checking the tables and adding text into text fields ), and check your source (in case you are the source yourself check “see below”, which refers to the “Provisional notes” field) 4.3.5 check if everything is OK 4.3.6 in field “Provisional notes”: please for any of your first records add this specification: “TEST, STILL TO BE CHECKED” 4.3.7 in this same field: put a signature according to this format (svd feb10 which means Suzan van Dijk February 2010) 4.3.8 click the green “Save changes” button 4.3.9 check if everything is OK (if not make immediate adaptations)

These are basically the things to be done. You may, of course, encounter difficulties or questions. In these cases, please take contact, as mentioned above.






SvD, 5 March 2010



  • Database WomenWriters > Instructions

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