Why is participation inequality important?

Haklay, Muki

doi:10.5334/bax.c

Cited by 52 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Yang et al [4] conducted a temporal analysis of the inequality of contribution in OSM in different countries, indicating that contribution inequality is related to the import of data. After exploring the emergence of participation inequality on both temporal and spatial scales and evaluating the implications for the use of VGI, Haklay [12] proposed that the contribution inequality in the analysis of a VGI project must be considered. In the initial Mapillary research, contribution inequality was also found [8], showing that a small number of people have a large average contribution per week, accompanied by a longer contribution activity.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

The State of Mapillary: An Exploratory Analysis

Fan

et al. 2019

IJGI

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As the world’s largest crowdsourcing-based street view platform, Mapillary has received considerable attention in both research and practical applications. By February 2019, more than 20,000 users worldwide contributed approximately 6.3 million kilometers of streetscape sequences. In this study, we attempted to get a deep insight into the Mapillary project through an exploratory analysis from the perspective of contributors, including the development of users, the spatiotemporal analysis of active users, the contribution modes (walking, cycling, and driving), and the devices used to contribute. It shows that inequality exists in the distribution of contributed users, similar to that in other volunteered geographic information (VGI) projects. However, the inequality in Mapillary contribution is less than in OpenStreetMap (OSM). Compared to OSM, the other main difference is that the data collection demonstrated obvious seasonal variation because contributions to OSM can be accomplished on a computer, whereas images have to be captured on the streets for Mapillary, and this is considerably affected by seasonal weather.

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Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

The State of Mapillary: An Exploratory Analysis

Fan

et al. 2019

IJGI

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“…The direct impacts of the gender bias, that is the specific nuances of how, however, remain woefully under-articulated within the limited body of work on gender dimensions in VGI, an observation that is made in relation to the wider spectrum of demographically biased participation in crowdsourcing geospatial data (Haklay 2016;Quattrone et al 2015). The fem2map 2 research project conducted by the Technical University of Vienna aimed to elevate female participation in VGI and resulted in several findings regarding female engagement in VGI (see below).…”

Section: Gender Representation In Vgimentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying gendered participation in OpenStreetMap: responding to theories of female (under) representation in crowdsourced mapping

et al. 2019

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This paper presents the results of an exploratory quantitative analysis of gendered contributions to the online mapping project OpenStreetMap (OSM), in which previous research has identified a strong male participation bias. On these grounds, theories of representation in volunteered geographic information (VGI) have argued that this kind of crowdsourced data fails to embody the geospatial interests of the wider community. The observed effects of the bias however, remain conspicuously absent from discourses of VGI and gender, which proceed with little sense of impact. This study addresses this void by analysing OSM contributions by gender and thus identifies differences in men's and women's mapping practices. An online survey uniquely captured the OSM IDs as well as the declared gender of 293 OSM users. Statistics relating to users' editing and tagging behaviours openly accessible via the 'how did you contribute to OSM' wiki page were subsequently analysed. The results reveal that volumes of overall activity as well editing and tagging actions in OSM remain significantly dominated by men. They also indicate subtle but impactful differences in men's and women's preferences for modifying and creating data, as well as the tagging categories to which they contribute. Discourses of gender and ICT, gender relations in online VGI environments and competing motivational factors are implicated in these observations. As well as updating estimates of the gender participation bias in OSM, this paper aims to inform and stimulate subsequent discourses of gender and representation towards a new rationale for widening participation in VGI.

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“…Though skew is typically unplanned, the reality is that citizen science contributions are often heavily unbalanced with a small percentage of highly active participants having the greatest influence on the resulting dataset. Furthermore, skew appears to be a common characteristic of citizen science projects irrespective of whether participation is primarily online or on-the-ground (Haklay 2016). This phenomenon is known as the Pareto principle and although not unique to citizen science, it is a common feature of most participatory science projects (Newman et al 2005).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Typically they take on the role of volunteer data collectors, but often they engage by using the data as well. In most projects, contributions are heavily unbalanced with only a small percentage of highly active participants influencing resulting datasets, but many other individuals potentially using them (Haklay 2016). This means that a best practice in citizen science is the provision of dataout or report-back capacity (Newman et al 2012), which provides participants with opportunities to interact with project data.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contrasting the Views and Actions of Data Collectors and Data Consumers in a Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Project: Implications for Project Design and Management

Cooper

Larson

Holland

et al. 2017

CSTP

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Data collection or generation is the primary way that the majority of volunteers advance the scientific goals of citizen science projects, but other activities such as data consumption also may influence learning, civic, and conservation outcomes. Project designers and managers balance goals for multiple outcomes and thus need to consider the influence of all project-related activities on outcomes. In a study of the kayak-based Citizen's Water Quality Testing (CWQT) Program in New York City, we compared the characteristics, perceptions, and behaviors of those collecting and using CWQT data (data collectors) and those solely using the data (data consumers). Data collectors (n = 40) and consumers (n = 24) were similar in gender and political orientation, but collectors were younger, devoted more time to the project, and experienced far more face-to-face interactions related to the project. Data collectors and consumers had similar motivations for participation, except that collectors were more likely motivated by recognition for their efforts. Lack of free time was the largest barrier to participation for both types of participants, and a significantly greater barrier for consumers. Data collectors and consumers trusted volunteer-collected data more than government-collected data. Collectors and consumers both recognized multiple scientific, environmental, and social benefits associated with the project, and both were equally likely to use volunteer-collected data for a variety of purposes, such as informing decisions about conservation and recreation. Importantly, both groups were equally likely to undertake a suite of conservation behaviors. We synthesize and expand current conceptual frameworks of citizen science participation and outcomes, highlighting the need for further study to understand mechanisms and linkages between the varied activities of citizen science projects and broader social and ecological impacts. To achieve conservation goals, project managers should broaden the definition of participant to include those carrying out activities other than data collection (such as data use) and explicitly manage for potential benefits derived by consumers of citizen science.Keywords: water quality monitoring; community-based research; Pareto principle; NYC kayakers; Enterococci bacteria; conservation; citizen science Introduction Citizen science is newly recognized as a distinct discipline with a rapidly emerging theoretical base Bonney et al. 2014;Jordan et al. 2015;Cooper 2016).New studies provide insights on the structure, processes, function, and outcomes of citizen science. The primary products of citizen science activities are typically scientific publications or datasets, but additional outcomes are To better understand these outcomes and how they might be derived, it is important to explore the many different ways that citizen scientists engage with research projects. Typically they take on the role of volunteer data collectors, but often they engage by using the data as well. In most projects, contri...

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Why is participation inequality important?

Cited by 52 publications

References 14 publications

The State of Mapillary: An Exploratory Analysis

The State of Mapillary: An Exploratory Analysis

Quantifying gendered participation in OpenStreetMap: responding to theories of female (under) representation in crowdsourced mapping

Contrasting the Views and Actions of Data Collectors and Data Consumers in a Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Project: Implications for Project Design and Management

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