The Dutch Data Prize for 2014 has been awarded to the Nederlandse Liederenbank (Dutch Song Database) in the category of Humanities & Social Sciences and to DINED in the category of Exact & Technical Sciences. The awards were presented yesterday by professors Karel Luyben (TU Delft) and Kees Aarts (University of Twente).
DINED
At the awards ceremony, which took place on 24 September, professor Karel Luyben, chairman of the jury for the exact and technical sciences, presented the Dutch Data Prize to DINED. DINED initially aimed at industrial designers, but it is also being used for other technical applications. This knowledge base of anatomy and statistics should rid the design sector of the misconception that there is such a thing as an average person. On behalf of the jury, professor Luyben emphasized the practical aspects and the beautiful interface of DINED. “The construction of the dataset is very practical, which greatly enhances its public value. The innovative character of the set will invite many scientists to perform further research. It is highly accessible for a wide audience because of the great care that has been taken in collecting, describing and unlocking the set.”
Nederlandse Liederenbank (Dutch Song Database)
The winner of the Dutch Data Prize for the humanities and social sciences is the Nederlandse Liederenbank (Dutch Song Database). This is a collection of approximately 170,000 Dutch songs from the Middle Ages to the 20th century: love songs, folk songs and many more. The database contains the full song lyrics and sometimes the melodies too. Information such as first lines, tune identifications, stanza forms and genre indications can also be found.
The jury was unanimous in its praise for the Dutch Song Database. Chairman professor Kees Aarts especially commended the versatile use of this database. “The database is already being used by many scholars in the digital humanities for literary, musical, religious, historical and ethnological research. Journalists, musicians and high school students also use the database a lot. This well-structured database is therefore a great asset for Dutch academic and cultural heritage.”
More datasets
The winners went home with €7,500 to make their dataset more accessible; a sculpture; and a dinner party for the research group involved in producing and providing access to the dataset concerned. Besides the Dutch Song Database and DINED, four other datasets had been nominated. Although these datasets have not been rewarded with a data prize, the nominees and the other submissions were of high quality. They are all good examples of sharing research data.
The Dutch Data Prize
The Dutch Data Prize expresses appreciation for researchers or research groups that make an additional contribution to science by making their research data available for new or further research. There is a prize for the humanities and social sciences as well as a prize for the exact and technical sciences. De Dutch Data Prize is initiated by Research Data Netherlands (RDNL).
More information You will find more information about the Dutch Data Prize on the RDNL website.
The winners (from left to right) prof. Louis Grijp (Meertens Institute) for the Dutch Song Database) and ir. Marijke Dekker on behalf of dr.ir. Johan Molenbroek for DINED (Delft University of Technology).
Credit photo: Annemiek van der Kuil