A Bibliometric Analysis of Crowdsourcing in the Field of Public Health

Abstract

With the characteristics of low cost and open call, crowdsourcing has been widely adopted in many fields, particularly to support the use of surveys, data processing, and the monitoring of public health. The objective of the current study is to analyze the applications, hotspots, and emerging trends of crowdsourcing in the field of public health. Using CiteSpace for the visualization of scientific maps, this study explores the analysis of time-scope, countries and institutions, authors, published journals, keywords, co-references, and citation clusters. The results show that the United States is the country with the most publications regarding crowdsourcing applications for public health. Howe and Brabham are the two leading authors in this field. Further, most of the articles published in this field are found in medical and comprehensive journals. Crowdsourcing in public health is increasing and diversifying. The results of this study will enable and support the analysis of the specific role of crowdsourcing in the public health ecosystem.

How can crowdsourcing help tackle the COVID‐19 pandemic? An explorative overview of innovative collaborative practices

“…The term crowdsourcing was coined for the first time in 2006 by Howe to represent the act of organizations outsourcing their tasks to an undefined and large group of people, but the concept finds its roots in initiatives already in use in past centuries, as the case of the prize established in 1714 by Britain’s Parliament in the Longitude Act reported by several authors (Ranard et al, 2014; Créquit et al, 2018; Wazny, 2018). Over the last decades, with the advent of Web 2.0 and the development of digital technologies, it has progressed, as the Internet has greatly reduced the cost of information transfer and the boundaries of participating (Wang et al, 2019). It is now recognized as an efficient and useful tool for innovation and competitiveness with a wide range of applications and it has benefited many sectors of society (Brabham et al, 2014).…”

GLOBE Mosquito Habitat Mapper Citizen Science Data 2017–2020

“…Increasingly, scientists are using citizen science data in their research that spans biological conservation to mapping galaxies (McKinley et al., 2017 ; Shanley, 2020 ). Recently, the value of the volume, velocity, and variety of data created by non‐specialist volunteers using personal mobile devices has also attracted the attention of public health researchers (Katapally, 2020 ; Wang et al., 2019 ). When it comes to pandemics, whether COVID‐19 or mosquito‐vector borne disease, Katapally suggests that the tool we need to obtain critical data and to reinforce health‐fostering behaviors is “perhaps right in our pockets.”…”

“…Increasingly, scientists are using citizen science data in their research that spans biological conservation to mapping galaxies (McKinley et al, 2017;Shanley, 2020). Recently, the value of the volume, velocity, and variety of data created by non-specialist volunteers using personal mobile devices has also attracted the attention of public health researchers (Katapally, 2020;Wang et al, 2019). When it comes to pandemics,…”

Citizen Science Case Studies and Their Impacts on Social Innovation

“…The literature provides a myriad of approaches towards social innovation, including linking social innovation to sustainable development (Eichler and Schwarz 2019), capacity building (Howaldt et al 2018), digitisation (Bria et al 2015), and urban development (Gerometta et al 2005). Concurrently, citizen science projects are tackling a range of related issues, including the environment and biodiversity (Ries and Oberhauser 2015), sustainable development (Irwin 1995), and health (Wang et al 2019). These synergies between citizen science and social innovation show their interconnectedness.…”