Mahon, M.S.; (2009) CAVA (human Communication: an Audio-Visual Archive). Viewfinder (76)

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Abstract

In order to investigate human communication and interaction, researchers need hours of audio-visual data, sometimes recorded over periods of months or years. The process of collecting, cataloguing and transcribing such valuable data is time-consuming and expensive. Once it is collected and ready to use, it makes sense to get the maximum value from it by reusing it and sharing it among the research community. But unlike highly-controlled experimental data, natural audio-visual data tends to defy easy classification, and may lead to idiosyncratic solutions to preservation, metadata and access issues. It is not uncommon for vital and unique data to languish on VHS tapes in personal collections. Natural data can often be used for more than the purpose its collector intended. Researchers may be able to save time and money, or improve the depth of their observations and conclusions, by reusing existing data instead of collecting their own. Despite its usefulness, data in personal collections does not lend itself to being shared between researchers and institutions on a large scale. This is largely due to the absence, until now, of a centralised data archive to support such research and to offer opportunities for collaborative work. CAVA (human Communication: an Audio-Visual Archive) is a JISC-funded project based at University College London in collaboration with the UK Data Archive (UKDA), running from April 2009 to March 2010.

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