Micro-Cycles of Digitisation: Digital Surrogates, Sense-Making and Science Communication in Natural History Museums

The Blaschka Case addresses the reuse of analogue and digital surrogates used to communicate science in a natural history museum setting, over a span of time. The research examines the path of a collection of surrogates over time and does so through an identification of the triggers and context that prompt the action of reuse, or the reiteration of an existing surrogate. The Blaschka Case is a single case study with three embedded units of study: Study 1 archival research, Study 2 semi-structured interviews with thematic analysis, and Study 3 a content analysis of a Blaschka Twitter Corpus. The research proposes that we view the action of reuse as a behaviour - specifically an information behaviour - and from there we can examine the context that surrounds the action or behaviour of reuse. The research reframes the perception and use of digital surrogates through the creation of new models or micro-cycles for informal and small- to item-level projects for professional digitisation practice within a natural history museum setting.