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Oliver Duke-Williams

Oliver Duke-Williams

I am an Associate Professor in Digital Information Studies in the Department of Information Studies at UCL, and was previously a Senior Research Fellow at the School of Geography, University of Leeds.

I am the Programme Director for the MA Digitial Humanities and MSc Digital Humanities programmes, and teach the following modules

My research interests include web-based access to geographic data (including presentation of spatial data, and dissemination of demographic data) and disclosure control issues, especially those associated with migration and commuting data.

I am particularly interested in the past, present and future of census taking and other demographic information capture in the UK:

  • I am the Census Service Director at the UK Data Service, and lead on provision of origin-destination data from recent censuses
  • I am a senior team member in CeLSIUS, the Centre for Longitudinal Study Information and User Support, which facilitate access to the ONS Longitudinal Study
  • I also sit on the advisory board for FreeUKGenealogy, one of the longest running crowd-sourced / volunteer transcribed data organisations, which  has transcribed over 350 million historic census, parish register, and birth/marriage/death records

I am interested in spatial visualisation of various kinds of data, and how we can use maps and other visualisation tools to make patterns in data easier to see and understand.

Research projects

  • The ESRC CeLSIUS project, which provides access to and expert support for the ONS Longitudinal Study (LS). The LS is a linked sample of about 1% of the population of England and Wales, containing census records from the censuses of 1971, 1981, 1991, 2001 and (soon to be added) 2011 (as many of these for which sample members were present), plus vital events records and other data. [Co-Investigator]

    • As part of my work on CeLSIUS, I am also work on the CALLS Hub. The Hub aims to improve integration between the LS for England and Wales with sister studies in Scotland and in Northern Ireland. This includes training and support materials, harmonisation of metadata, and developing methodology that allows research to be conducted at a UK level across different studies. [Co-Investigator]
  • The ESRC Census Support Service. Census Support is a Value Added Service of the UK Data Service, and provides access to and support for various outputs from UK Censuses, including area statistics, microdata samples and digital boundary data. My particular interest is in interaction data - flows of people between places through internal migration and commuting. Access to the flow data is via the Flowdata website. [Co-Investigator]

Previous projects

  • The Administrative Data Research Centre for England (ADRCE). The ADRCE is one of a set of four national centres funded by the ESRC, and together with the Administrative Data Service, form the Administrative Data Research Network. [Co-Investigator]
  • Hidden Histories: An Oral History of Digital Humanities. Working with Julianne Nyhan as part of her wider Hidden Histories project, we have been looking at changing patterns of publication in Digital Humanities journals.
  • I also have folder noting miscellaneous bits of research

Contact details

Email: o.duke-williams@ucl.ac.uk
UCL extension: 37205
Direct line: 020 7679 7205 (non-UK: +44 20 7679 7205)
Office: Room G42, Foster Court

Correspondence address:
Dr Oliver Duke-Williams
Department of Information Studies
University College London
Gower Street
London WC1E 6BT

Twitter: @oliver_dw

Office drop-in hours 2022-2023

  • Term 1: Monday 1pm-2pm
  • Term 2: TBC