Excerpt from each of our written assignments :

Alma:
This assignment showed that turning a narrative into structured data is not only a technical task but also a social and political one. Building the excel model and adding Yongas information to Wikidata taught me that categories are never neutral, they decide what becomes visible and what is left out.
In terms of methodology, I learned the importance of starting from the context of the source, rather than forcing it into existing data structures, ergo letting the biography lead me, rather than Wikidata’s existing structure. I also became aware of the ethical implications that arise when turning historical data into structural data, it requires reflection in every data decision.

Eva:
When working in Wikidata, one works with taxonomies. A taxonomy is a system that organizes knowledge through hierarchies and categories, where elements are connected based on their properties and relations.
By linking data this way, both opportunities and challenges arise. One of the primary challenges of working with taxonomies concerns the linking of data. As explained earlier, data are connected through shared values added to the so-called “statements”. If a value does not already exist in the database, the risk increases of linking data to the wrong or no value, thereby creating misleading information. Conversely, the potential of taxonomies lies in their ability to create structure, reusability, and coherence across different contexts.
An ethical consideration when working with taxonomies is that they are never neutral. They always reflect certain cultural and political values and can therefore reproduce existing biases. Working with taxonomies is thus not only about technical organization but also about being aware of the perspectives and power relations embedded with the structure (Crawford and Paglen, 2021).

Emma:
The overall outcome of this project shows that it is manageable to create a structured entry, where biographies become searchable and verifiable, however it is crucial to note that it is a simplification of a rather complex narrative piece. Nonetheless our work effectively produced a new version of the chosen biography, that illustrates the logic of linked data and ultimately will most likely contribute to how Yonga is perceived by the public. Through this project, I have learned how decolonial data practices and those similar require careful balance. It is expected that the narratives are represented accurately, but while still maintaining cultural and emotional depth.

Katrine:
On one hand Linked open data make it possible to share and create information for more availability, and in this case to increase the visibility of the people that has had an important impact on our world’s history. Exactly this I find very important, to ensure understanding and involvement with both the past, the present and the future of knowledge production. On the other hand, the structure of sites like Wikidata risk producing subtle forms of exclusion because of the standardized categorization. This supports the fact that data structures are fragile because they rely on data labor and ethical reflection from the participants perspective to remain representative (Ford & Iliadis).