Co-developing research software and tools is rooted in Method-Driven Engineering: a framework where tool development is directly led by the methodological expertise of the digital methods researcher. I advocate for and am currently framing Method-Driven Engineering as a foundational approach to digital research. In this model, the researcher’s deep understanding of medium-technicity, platform logic, and web data infrastructures drives the technical architecture, ensuring that software serves as a rigorous instrument for visual and digital inquiry. By positioning the methodologist as the architect of the software, we ensure that the resulting tools are not just functional, but epistemologically rigorous and reproducible.
I have conceptualised and designed the methodological workflows for several research instruments that embody this approach:
- Memespector GUI: In collaboration with Jason Chao, I led the idea generation, tool usage design, and methodological application of this desktop interface for mediating AI Vision API requests, which facilitates AI-interpretation of image collections.
- Offline Image Query and Extraction Tool: In collaboration with Jason Chao, I conceptualised this tool and its relevance in navigating sub-collections within large-scale image datasets.
- ImgNetMaker: I developed the conceptual framework and implementation method for this command-line tool, which facilitates the visual interpretation of image networks. It was conceptualised during my research fellowship at the University of Münster (Centre for Digitized Public Spheres Research) and implemented during Methods Café Week, with software development led by Jakob Jünger.
- AIsearchTracer (In Development / Pilot Stage): Building on my longitudinal research into AI search epistemologies (LSE Impact Blog, 2026), I am currently architecting AIsearchTracer. This tool automates the capture of how AI searches the web, transforming a longitudinal prompt method into a reproducible research infrastructure for auditing AI web search.
Beyond tool architecture, I foster technical-methodological partnerships. While directing the SMART Data Sprint (2016-2023)—a pioneering Digital Methods school and sprint in Lisbon—I mediated a platinum sponsorship with RAWGraphs. This resulted in a custom version of the software created for the iNOVA Media Lab, used for teaching and research purposes.
Offline Image Query and Extraction Tool
Using image name files as queries to analyse specific image collections on demand I Tutorial: https://bit.ly/DMI21_ImageQueryTool
Offline Image Query and Extraction Tool: a command-line tool that locates image files scattered in nested and sparse directories by filename, copies them to a new location and then inserts labels as prefixes to the image filenames. This tool serves the study of visual content for social or media research, allowing researchers to use the image name file as query, helping them to navigate visual content according to its different characteristics.
How to cite: Chao, T. H. J. & Omena, J. J. (2021). Offline Image Query and Extraction Tool(Version 0.1) [Software]. Available from https://github.com/jason-chao/offline-image-query
Memespector GUI
A Graphical User Interface Client for Computer Vision APIs I Tutorial: https://bit.ly/DMI-tutorial_MemespectorGUI
Memespector-GUI is a cross-platform client for computer vision APIs with a graphical user interface. It supports Google Cloud Vision API, Microsoft Azure Cognitive Services, Clarifai Computer Vision and an API for Keras’ built-in open source models. Memespector-GUI runs on Windows, Mac OS and Linux.
How to cite: Chao, T. H. J. (2021). Memespector GUI: Graphical User Interface Client for Computer Vision APIs (Version 0.2) [Software]. Available from https://github.com/jason-chao/memespector-gui
ImgNetMaker
How to cite: Omena, J. J., & Jünger, J. (2025). ImgNetMaker (beta version) [Computer software]. GitHub. Conceptualised in the context of Omena’s 2025 research fellowship at the Centre for Digitized Public Spheres Research, University of Münster, and implemented during Methods Café Week, Münster.
