PHaEDRA Full Text Instructions

Transcribing the Workbooks of the Women Astronomical Computers

These projects include the calculations and work of these researchers. Please see the following instructions to guide your transcription.

Basic Transcription Instructions

As you get started with transcribing these workbooks, you may want to visit our Basic Transcription Instructions, including tips for Review.

Tips

Be ready for table formatting and handwriting that may be hard to read. Please read all of our advanced instructions before beginning to transcribe, as our collection has a wide variety of content and can be very challenging.
Keep in mind that we are primarily looking for the clarity of the textual content, as users of the transcriptions will be able to view the image side-by-side with the transcription.
The transcription formatting will likely not match the written text; that is okay. We want to reduce white space unless it is essential to the transcription. If a line in your transcription wraps around in the box, that is perfectly fine. The important thing is having the transcription contain consistent and accurate representations of the information on the page.

Tags

Tags should be consistent throughout the collection and between transcribers.
Tags that describe transcribed text need ‘open' and ‘close' tags. A closed tag appears at the end of the phrase with a forward slash. Example: [[begin tag]] phrase [[/close tag]]
When a tag is used in place of an untranscribed feature on the page, you do not need a closing tag.
An example of a tag used in place of a feature on the page is the [[stamp]] tag. We do not need the text of the stamp to be transcribed, and we do not need a closing tag. We only need the tag [[stamp]] to indicate a stamp is present on the page.
Tags that describe transcribed text include strikethrough and underlined tags. We specifically use "strikethrough" and "underlined" for our project; please make sure you are using these particular tags when describing these features. We ask that you transcribe all text even if it is struck through.
If you see handwritten notes inserted above, below, or adjacent to a line of text, you can indicate this using a caret and double brackets to indicate that text is inserted inline. This can be especially useful if text is struck through and the "corrected" version of the text is written very small nearby to it. You do not need to include insertion formatting for corrected text after every strikethrough; only when you feel it is necessary to indicate the text was added after the initial writing.
For our project, use [[preprinted]] for any text printed on the logbook pages instead of handwritten; usually this would be the page numbers.
Make sure that you close any open tags with a backslash, like this [[/end tag]].

Tags Example: Stamp, Preprinted
[[preprinted]] 1 [[/preprinted]]
KG11365.475
[[stamp]]

Underlined Example: Text

[[preprinted]] 2 [[/preprinted]]
[[underlined]] Contents. [[/underlined]]

Underlined Example: Table

[[table]]
|[[underlined]] 5.04 [[/underlined]]|[[underlined]] 4.85 [[/underlined]]| [[underlined]] 7.85 [[/underlined]]|
[[/table]]

Strikethrough Example: Text

B12802
[[strikethrough]] f = 3
V not seen [[/strikethrough]]

Strikethrough Example: Table

[[table]]
|b|5.9|[[strikethrough]]6.1[[/strikethrough]]|0.76|
[[/table]]

Inserted Text Example

6884 5 47.0 ^

- 20 ^ 54
7588 6 132 ^ - 16 ^ 46

Inserted Text Example: After Strikethrough

phaedra0810, pg 5

[[strikethrough]] f [[/strikethrough]] ^[[m]] 2 v

Tables and Cells
Begin a table with the [[table]] tag, and make sure to close the table at the end with [[/table]]. There is no need to specify the number of columns in this tag.
To demarcate between cells in a table, use a pipe bar character ( | ). Include pipe bars at the beginning and end of each row.
No special marks are necessary for line breaks or new rows. Include empty cells, but do not include empty rows. To transcribe empty cells, separate the pipe bars with three spaces.
There is no need to include a row separating the "header" row from the rest of the table.

Tables and Cells Example: Basic

Tables and Cells Example: Complex

Tables and Cells Example: Advanced

phaedra0866, pg 6

[[preprinted]] 6 [[/preprinted]]
[[underlined]] Objects of Interest on Northern Spectrum Plates [[/underlined]]
[[table]]
|No.|No. Plate|V|H|Object|DM No.|R.A.|Dec.|Magn.|
|404|1047|6.9|14.5|Ma|-7[[symbol - degree symbol]] 4292|16^[[h]] 19.9^[[m]]|-7[[symbol - degree symbol]] 15<[[']]|6.1[[symbol - checkmark]]|
[[/table]]

Equations
If you come across an equation that cannot be transcribed, tag it with the [[equation]] tag. This tag does not need a closing tag as the material of the equation will not be transcribed.

Equation Example

phaedra0813, pg 16

Mean dec = +18[[symbol - degree symbol]] 4' 29.1" = [[equation]]

Images & Star Plots
Use the placeholder tag [[image]] to indicate when you see an image on the page. Please do not provide any further image description. Star plots should be tagged as images.

Image/Star Plot Example

phaedra0812, pg 85

Plate I 6524

[[table]]
|a|5|
|b|5.3|
|c|6|
|d|6.3|
|e|6.4|
|f|7.1|
|g|7.3|
|h|7.7|
|k|8.4|
|l|8.8|
|m|9.2|
|n|9.7|
|var.|9.1|
[[/table]]

[[image]]

10.74 11.04, 11.04 = 11.04 00 00
10.94 11.14 [[symbol-checkmark]]

Graphs
Tag data visualizations and graphs with the [[graph]] tag. There is no need to transcribe the text that is written on the graph itself.

Graph Example

phaedra1118, pg 124

[[table]]
|[[lambda]]|150|140|420|150|190|63|
|[[mu]]|140|160|420|140|160| |
[[/table]]

[[graph]]

Greek Letters
When you see a greek letter on the page, use your best judgment on which character it is, using a reference. Transcribe the Latin name that corresponds to the Greek letter in double brackets, such as: [[alpha]]. You would transcribe it in brackets as a placeholder for the greek letter symbol.

Greek Letters Example

phaedra1118, pg 124

[[table]]
|[[beta]]|350|30|410|360|
|[[gamma]]|380|405|420|380|
||[[delta]]|370|410|420|370|
|[[epsilon]]|345|410|420|345|
|[[kappa]]|[[strikethrough]]390[[/strikethrough]]^

|405 ^ |420|392|
|[[zeta]]|300|390|420|300|
|[[eta]]|240|370|420|240|
|[[phi]]|200|320|420|200|
[[/table]]

Symbols in Text
If you encounter a symbol, mark it with the tag [[symbol]] and, if possible, include a word that describes what the symbol would replace. Use this notation for all symbols in text. These can be degree symbols, checkmarks, star symbols, math symbols, and others.
For example, for degree symbols, we would use [[symbol - degree symbol]] and for a checkmark, [[symbol - check mark]].
We do not usually need check mark, arrow, and curly bracket symbols to be transcribed.
If you aren't sure what a symbol is, you can use [[symbol - (describe symbol)]] to describe it as best as possible.
We ask that you do not paste in any symbols or attempt to recreate the depiction with keyboard symbols.
Symbols Example: Astronomical Symbols

phaedra1310, pg 147

Comp. star
Order [[symbol - star symbol]] [[symbol - star symbol]] [[symbol - comet symbol]] [[symbol - comet symbol]]

Symbols Example: Degree and Checkmark

phaedra2186, pg 155

[[symbol - checkmark]] 379 -58 [[symbol - degree symbol]] 5879
380 -58 5839
5840

Symbols Example: Unknown Symbol

phaedra0900, pg 4

21 38.8 + 43 8 1900 [[symbol - wv symbol]]

Text and Handwriting
You may come across ditto marks (" ") which indicate that the text of the entry is the same as the text above it.
We ask that you transcribe the text that is meant to be in the place of the marks.
Use the context of the page as best as you can to decipher difficult terms and handwriting; but if you cannot make out what something says you may write a question mark or what you think it says in brackets. For example: [[Dark bands]] or [[?]].
There is no need to transcribe the watermark reading "John G. Wolbach Library, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics • Provided by the NASA Astrophysics Data System" at the bottom of every page, as it is not a part of the original document.

Text Example: Ditto Marks

phaedra0900, pg 6

[[table]]
|Nov. 5, 1904|4712|32243|
|Nov. 5, 1904|4713|32243|
|Nov. 5, 1904|4714|32243|
[[/table]]

Text Example: Abbreviations and Terms

phaedra0900, pg 4

[[table]]
|11.5|[[?]]|+41 4773|
[[/table]]

[[table]]
|11.5|Br. Lines|+41 4773|
[[/table]]

Abbreviations
Transcribe abbreviations as you see them. This list may help you to spot them and transcribe the letters correctly.
"Br Lines" – Bromine Lines
"Too ft" – Too faint
"Pec" – Peculiarity
"Magn." – Magnitude
"Dec" – Declination
"Neb" - Nebula
"Dark Bands"
"TP" - Too Poor
"Meas" - Measure
"Cu" - Curve
"Elong" - Elongated
Please feel free to contact us with more additions to this list.

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General instructions for STC transcription: https://transcription.si.edu/instructions
PHaEDRA Glossary: https://library.cfa.harvard.edu/phaedra/glossary
Advanced STC Instructions: https://transcription.si.edu/advancedinstructions
PHaEDRA STC Instructions: https://transcription.si.edu/instructions-women-computers-workbooks