The data schema is a description of the author's data model. It is both a guide to understanding the values in a data set and a model that may be applied to other data sets. For example, the data schema for John Locke's correspondence network might also be applied to the correspondence of Thomas Hobbes or René Descartes. We consider the data schema an essential research product which, by itself, expresses the design of the research inquiry while also supporting effective data sharing, discovery and analysis.
The visualizations of the data tables on this page were created using Breve, a free, open source tool developed at Humanities + Design.
These data originate in a data dump from the Electronic Enlightenment Project in 2009. A team of researchers at Stanford subsequently enriched and edited these data, adding geo-coordinates, VIAF IDs, and wikipedia URLs. Not included in the list of correspondents are “groups” (e.g., academies and other corporate bodies).
Dan Edelstein. (2015). Schema for Voltaire’s Correspondence Network: Letters, People, Places. Stanford Digital Repository.