Volunteered geographical information, crowdsourcing, citizen science and neogeography are not the same

Cooper, Antony; Coetzee, Serena; Kourie, Derrick G.

doi:10.5194/ica-proc-1-131-2018

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Various terms are used to distinguish between the different ways in which geospatial data are collected collaboratively, however, the terms are not mutually exclusive. For example, user generated content refers to material that is contributed by the public to a website; crowdsourcing refers to the enlisting of a large number of people, either paid or unpaid, to collect information via the Internet; in citizen science, data about the natural world is collected by the general public for analysis by professional scientists [71]; and in community science, a special case of citizen science, the community takes a more active role by participating in the design and planning of the data collection [1]. Depending on how data were collected, one or more of these terms could apply to a particular subset of collaboratively contributed open geospatial data.…”

Section: Collaboratively Contributed Open Geospatial Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Open Geospatial Software and Data: A Review of the Current State and A Perspective into the Future

Coetzee

Ivánová

Mitášová

et al. 2020

IJGI

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All over the world, organizations are increasingly considering the adoption of open source software and open data. In the geospatial domain, this is no different, and the last few decades have seen significant advances in this regard. We review the current state of open source geospatial software, focusing on the Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo) software ecosystem and its communities, as well as three kinds of open geospatial data (collaboratively contributed, authoritative and scientific). The current state confirms that openness has changed the way in which geospatial data are collected, processed, analyzed, and visualized. A perspective on future developments, informed by responses from professionals in key organizations in the global geospatial community, suggests that open source geospatial software and open geospatial data are likely to have an even more profound impact in the future.

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Section: Collaboratively Contributed Open Geospatial Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Open Geospatial Software and Data: A Review of the Current State and A Perspective into the Future

Coetzee

Ivánová

Mitášová

et al. 2020

IJGI

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“…Wikipedia is perhaps the most widely-cited example of open knowledge production through crowdsourcing, but other examples abound (Elwood et al 2013). The data resulting from crowdsourcing are sometimes referred to as usergenerated content (UGC), which is generally placed in contrast to professionally-generated content (Cooper et al 2017). Importantly, though, some of the neoliberal elements of crowdsourcing's inception remain, and scholars have criticized how even well-intentioned crowdsourcing efforts can responsibilize citizens to collect their own data and then exploit that data for profit (e.g., Leszczynski 2013).…”

Section: Volunteer Geographic Information In the Global Southmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…VGI is regularly framed as a subset of crowdsourcing, although the terms do not perfectly overlap (Cooper et al 2017). This term was first introduced by geographer Michael Goodchild (2008) to refer to the ways in which citizens can now use GPS units (often embedded in mobile devices) to act as 'voluntary sensors' to collectively produce geospatial intelligence.…”

Section: Volunteer Geographic Information In the Global Southmentioning

confidence: 99%

Volunteer geographic information in the Global South: barriers to local implementation of mapping projects across Africa

et al. 2020

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The world is awash in data-by 2020 it is expected that there will be approximately 40 trillion gigabytes of data in existence, with that number doubling every 2 to 3 years. However, data production is not equal in all places-the global data landscape remains heavily concentrated on English-speaking, urban, and relatively affluent locations within the Global North. This inequality can contribute to new forms of digital and data colonialism. One partial solution to these issues may come in the form of crowdsourcing and volunteer geographic information (VGI), which allow Global South populations to produce their own data. Despite initial optimism about these approaches, many challenges and research gaps remain in understanding the opportunities and barriers that organizations endemic to the Global South face in carrying out their own sustainable crowdsourcing projects. What opportunities and barriers do these endemic organizations face when trying to carry out mapping projects driven by their own goals and desires? This paper contributes answers to this question by examining a VGI project that is currently mapping public libraries across the African continent. Our findings highlight how dramatically digital divides can bias crowdsourcing results; the importance of local cultural views in influencing participation in crowdsourcing; and the continued importance of traditional, authoritative organizations for crowdsourcing. These findings offer important lessons for researchers and organizations attempting to develop their own VGI projects in the Global South.

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“…3)and, in fact, these two terms are generally more widespread in geographic journals than the "citizen science" term. As emphasized by Cooper et al (2017), the concepts of volunteered geographic information, crowdsourcing, neogeography and citizen science are sometimes confused with Nevertheless, the use of the citizen science approach relies on a wider acceptance of this method by the scientific community and academic journals. Gadermaier et al (2018) outlined five factors that influence the probability of publication using citizen science data in open-accessed peer-reviewed scientific journals.…”

Section: Citizen Science and Geographymentioning

confidence: 99%

Citizen science as a new approach in Geography and beyond: Review and reflections

Trojan

Schade

Lemmens

et al. 2019

Moravian Geographical Reports

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Issues related to the evolving role of citizen science and open science are reviewed and discussed in this article. We focus on the changing approaches to science, research and development related to the turn to openness and transparency, which has made science more open and inclusive, even for non-researchers. Reproducible and collaborative research, which is driven by the open access principles, involves citizens in many research fields. The article shows how international support is pushing citizen science forward, and how citizens’ involvement is becoming more important. A basic scientometric analysis (based on the Web of Science Core Collection as the source of peer reviewed articles) provides a first insight into the diffusion of the citizen science concept in the field of Geography, mapping the growth of citizen science articles over time, the spectrum of geographical journals that publish them, and their citation rate compared to other scientific disciplines. The authors also discuss future challenges of citizen science and its potential, which for the time being seems to be not fully utilized in some fields, including geographical research.

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Volunteered geographical information, crowdsourcing, citizen science and neogeography are not the same

Cited by 8 publications

References 16 publications

Open Geospatial Software and Data: A Review of the Current State and A Perspective into the Future

Open Geospatial Software and Data: A Review of the Current State and A Perspective into the Future

Volunteer geographic information in the Global South: barriers to local implementation of mapping projects across Africa

Citizen science as a new approach in Geography and beyond: Review and reflections

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