Expanding
the Indices
Through out the EHE we will indicate areas in which it could be further expanded. One avenue is to create indices to the fieldwork that are organised by the various activities undertaken.
For example, after the initial familiarization period we identified two main sets of activities at the research site that we wished to study - the development of a show (Pushes and Pulls) and the development of an exhibition (It's Electric). Too do this the fieldwork was broken down into specific phases and jobs. Providing an index to these could enable a reader to cross-cut the data and perhaps gain a clearer perspective into our fieldwork choices.
Similarly, we drew upon notions of production and consumption throughout the fieldwork and considered the implications of of providing a thematic index. In the end constraints of time meant that it was not practical to do so.
Indices vs paths
In a sense any index is a hypertext 'path' into the material that it indexes. Under that categorisation, an index is a 'map' to a path that indicates what material can be found on the path. The current hyperdata set thus has two pre-programmed paths through the data - by media and by date. It is clear that a massive number of other paths could be created depending on the interests of the researcher.