Non-Linear Thinking Processes in Digital Humanities

This paper investigates the benefits of node-based user interfaces in Digital Humanities (DH). It highlights the importance of a qualitative versus a quantitative approach for text comparisons generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI). Since thinking processes in text analysis are lost in generative outputs within current AI text-based user interfaces (UI), keeping track of them allows for an interpretive approach. Within the fields of User Experience (UX) and Data Visualization Design we are developing uBIQUity, a platform that identifies intertextual references in Christian and Islamic sacred texts. The platform uses a node-based UI to manage, display data, and compare references. It emphasizes collaborative knowledge-building, and supports different cognitive learning styles. By combining philology, computer science, computational linguistics, and design, it overcomes the limitations of tools based solely on quantitative analysis, offering flexible interactions with digitized texts.