gengenbach-forensic-workflows-2012

Research Design: Participants
A total of nine participants were interviewed for this study. Participant recruitment
was based on several factors: active work in digital preservation efforts in collecting
institutions, involvement in previous and ongoing projects emphasizing digital forensics,
and overall demonstrated leadership in the field of digital preservation through
publications, presentations, and other professional activities. I began with an initial list of
14 possible participants, whom I contacted to request interviews. All of the those initially
contacted are involved in the BitCurator Project, which is developing digital forensic
tools for use in libraries, archives, and museums. 78 Through this initial contact three
additional individuals were suggested for participation, bringing the total number of
archivists, curators, and electronic records professionals invited to participate to
seventeen. Of the seventeen professionals invited to participate, nine were ultimately
interviewed, and of those nine there were eight workflow maps produced. 79
The participants hold a variety of positions and titles within their respective
institutions. Several hold more than one title, reflecting the variety of responsibilities held
by those working in collecting institutions. Similarly, participants work in a variety of
collecting institutions, including university archives, special collections and manuscript
collections, research centers, city archives, national libraries, and private organizations, in
three different countries over two continents. The number of archivists and records
professionals actively presenting and publishing in the area of digital forensics and digital
78 BitCurator is funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. More information about the project is
available on page 21 of this work, as well as in Appendix D: Digital Preservation Tools and
Technologies, and on the BitCurator Project website at http://www.bitcurator.net/.
79 Due to the time constraints of this project, I was unable to confirm all the details of the Library of
Congress workflow map, and for this reason I elected not to use the Library of Congress workflow for
this project.
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