Should I use InkVisitor?

InkVisitor is excellent when you need to:

• create and manage entities;
• build typed relations between those entities;
• annotate source texts by anchoring entities to specific passages;
• model clauses as subject–verb–object–object quadruples.

Most database managers handle entity creation and relation-building; most annotation tools (such as CATMA) handle text annotation. InkVisitor's distinguishing feature is the combination of both within a single, semantically rich and historically sound data model (CASTEMO), which supports the capture of epistemic levels, modality, and other propositional attributes.

InkVisitor is data collection software, not analysis software. It provides no built-in analytical functions; quantitative analysis is performed subsequently in Python, R and graphical interface applications (Gephi etc.), where the available tooling is extensive and continuously growing. The decision to keep InkVisitor focused solely on data collection reflects a deliberate choice not to replicate what those ecosystems already do well.

Before committing to this approach, consider the following

Time taken to master. Both the application and the underlying data model are complex. Expect a substantial investment of time before the workflow becomes fluent.

Requirement for technical self-sufficiency. InkVisitor does not process or visualise your data for you. Users must be capable - or willing to become capable - of performing data transformations and downstream analysis independently. This remains non-trivial even with current AI assistance. (But it is true that large language models can help you a lot as a data transformation assistant.)

High time cost per unit of text. Encoding a text in CASTEMO is resource-intensive: as a rough estimate, the full modelling of 10 pages of source text require approximately two weeks of work. This investment is warranted only where the research question genuinely requires the granularity that structured semantic modelling provides and cannot be addressed by simpler methods. (But selective CASTEMO is quicker.)

The central question to ask before proceeding is therefore: does my research question require this level of structured representation, and does that justify the time cost? If the answer is yes, InkVisitor is there to help.