Supporting musicological investigations with information retrieval tools: an iterative approach to data collection

Abstract

Digital musicology research often proceeds by extending and enriching its evidence base as it progresses, rather than starting with a complete corpus of data and metadata, as a consequence of an emergent research need. In this paper, we consider a research workflow which assumes an incremental approach to data gathering and annotation. We describe tooling which implements parts of this workflow, developed to support the study of nineteenth-century music arrangements, and evaluate the applicability of our approach through interviews with musicologists and music editors who have used the tools. We conclude by considering extensions of this approach and the wider implications for digital musicology and music information retrieval