Digital Research Methods in Fashion and Textile Studies

Description

Are you a researcher struggling to mine and make sense of a mountain of fashion data? Are you interested in learning about how digital methods and tools could enhance your research? Have you thought about ways to spark and engage in academic conversations on social media? Have you wondered how digital technologies are internationalizing the field of fashion and textile studies? Digital Research Methods in Fashion and Textile Studies presents the reader with a variety of digital methodologies to help build skills in searching for, analyzing, and discussing vintage design, photography, and writing on fashion, as well as historic and ethnographic dress and textile objects themselves. Each chapter focuses upon a different method, problem, or research site, including: - Maximalism and mixed-methods approaches to research - Searching large databases effectively - Pattern recognition and visual searching - New trends in academic communication - Critical reading, use, and citation of social media texts - Data visualization - Spatial mapping of fashion and textile data In the current age of instant gratification, with users snapping and posting images from runway shows long before the clothes will ever appear in stores, the world of fashion is increasingly digital and fast-paced. Digital Research Methods in Fashion and Textile Studies will help you keep up in this rapidly changing world.

Amanda Sikarskie is Lecturer in Art History in the University of Michigan system and Lecturer in Fashion, Merchandising, and Design at Central Michigan University, USA. Her research looks at the intersection of fashion and textile studies and the digital humanities, and she is the author of Textile Collections: Preservation, Access, Curation and Interpretation in a Digital Age (2016).

Many undergraduates are invested in and knowledgeable about pop culture, material culture, and fashion, and that is where Sikarskie's book can prove invaluable beyond the fashion and textile disciplines: it is rife with excellent sample searches ... Summing Up: Essential. All readers. * CHOICE * ... an essential guidebook for fashion studies scholars. Engaging and clearly written, this comprehensive book covers everything from blogging to coding. Sikarskie's mixed-method approach is valuable to students and will refresh the practices of established researchers. * Colleen Hill, curator of costume and accessories, The Museum at FIT * Digital Research Methods ... is a breath of fresh air. Sikarskie delineates the cross-disciplinary nature of digital fashion and textile research in a fun and engaging manner, providing an invaluable resource for students and seasoned scholars alike. * Clare Sauro, Drexel University, USA *