History of zemstvo institutions: digital historiography research

Abstract

The paper presents the possibilities of using computer technologies for the zemstvo institutions’ historiography research. Today, when the number of publications about Zemstvo is extremely increasing, it is impossible to analyze data by using only qualitative methods. The author describes the importance of bibloimetrics and gives the algorithm of its usage in historiography study. In support of that, some examples of conformable academic works are presented in the research.  The research goal is based on quantitative analysis of the three known Zemstvo historiography periods during 1864 – 2014. The bibliographic information was organized according to special attributes in MS Access database: title, author’s name, year of publication, place of publication, object of study, chronology, geography, etc. It gives an opportunity to create queries in order to calculate data for further historiographical interpretation. The quantitative method gives the new statistical evidence to already known facts. In addition, it helps to structure all publications. Besides that, the author also examines modern state of the Zemstvo historiography, which is a brand new knowledge. According to regional specificity, the text reveals the regions that are more or less explored by scholars. It also examines the objects of contemporary studies and show their percentage. In conclusion, the author looks back at Kovalchenko’s words that quantitative and qualitative methods reach the maximal scholarly importance only when they are dialectically connected.