Dissertation proposal defense for a comparative case study of virtual citizen science projects, focusing on the concepts of virtuality, technology, organizing, participation, and outcomes. Successfully defended with no revisions on 5 May, 2010.

1. Crowdsourcing Science
Organizing Virtual Participation
in Knowledge Production
Andrea Wiggins
5 May, 2010

2. Citizen Science
• Projects involving the public with scientists in
collaborative research
– Diverse contributors, activities, and goals
– Volunteers contribute data collection or reduction
• Virtual citizen science
– All public participation is ICT‐mediated

3. Motivation
•What does it take to do science with
strangers on the Internet?
– Man is still the most extraordinary computer of all.
~John F. Kennedy
– Many hands make light work.
~John Heywood

4. Problem Statement
• Creating effective technologies for virtual
participation requires understanding how
research design and implementation decisions
influence processes and outcomes in citizen
science.
• Goal: support design and management of
citizen science cyberinfrastructure

5. Research Questions
• RQ1:
– How do virtuality and technology alter
organizing in citizen science?
• RQ2:
– How do virtuality and technology shape
participation in citizen science?
• RQ3:
– How do organizing and participation influence
scientific outcomes in citizen science?

6. Concepts
Discontinuities, continuities, & physicality
Virtuality Watson‐Manheim, Chudoba & Crowston; Harrison & Dourish
Technology Tools & routines for participation
Process of creating order; goal‐oriented activity
Organizing Cyert & March; Stinchcombe; Weick; Galbraith
Participation Taking part
Scientific
Formal knowledge production: papers, data sets
Outcomes

7. Related Research
• Public participation in science
– Purposes and forms of engagement
– Informal science education, policy, STS
• Irwin, Bonney (et al, et al, et al)
• Scientific collaboration
– Broader context of practice
• Sonnenwald, Finholt
• Online communities
– Participation in virtual environments
• Crowston, Haythornthwaite, Preece & Shneiderman

8. Virtual Participation
Process Model
• Literature
– Small group theory
• Hackman, McGrath, Ilgen,
Hollenbeck, Guzzo & Dickson
– Volunteerism
• Pearce, Wilson, Cnaan &
Cascio, Sproull & Kiesler
• Pilot study
– Context
– Processes

9. Pilot Study
• Goals
– Test theory & field research methods
– Familiarity with context of practice
• Case study of a new citizen science project
– Partnership for monitoring at National Parks
– Phenology: the study of recurring plant and animal
life cycle stages, or phenophases

10. Northeast Phenology Monitoring
• Organized virtually by diverse partners
– Federal agencies, nonprofits, networks, academics
– Different goals that rely on the same data
– Coordinating via email & conference calls
• Findings
– Complex organizing in
decentralized projects
– Context shapes research
design & implementation

11. Methodology
• Comparative case study methodology
– Complex sociotechnical phenomenon
– Early stage of research
– Explanatory process theory
• Theoretical sampling
– 2 ‐ 4 projects with different characteristics
• Multiple data sources and analysis techniques

12. Research Design
• Four overlapping phases
– Data collection from June 2010 ‐ December 2010
– Data analysis from July 2010 ‐ July 2011

13. Field Research Data Collection
• Interviews
– Ethnographic, semi‐structured & informal
– Project leaders & volunteers
• Participant observation
– Contribute as a volunteer
– Observe volunteers & project leaders
• Secondary data, documents & artifacts

14. Qualitative Analysis
• Analysis concurrent with data collection
– Flexible set of techniques
• Within‐case analysis
– Case descriptions & process analysis
• Cross‐case analysis
– Comparisons building on within‐case analysis
• Validation
– Auditor, participant review, expert panel

15. Theoretical Sampling Criteria
RQ Concept Model Dimensions
Input: environment spatial, temporal, physical
Virtuality
Input: technology task support, social support
Technology
Processes: organizing, project development, research
Organizing research design, coordination
Participation Processes: participation idealized, task, social
Scientific Outputs: knowledge, research products, discovery,
Outcomes innovation new/revised approaches

16. Three Potential Cases
Project Organization Tasks Spatial Temporal Physical Social IT Outcomes
Multiple
GalaxyZoo academic PIs
Reduction ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Great
Single
Sunflower academic PI
Collection ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Project
2 nonprofit Collection,
eBird organizations analysis ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

17. Great Sunflower Project
• Collecting data on pollinator service (bees!)
– Started in 2008 by a single academic researcher
– Very successful in volunteer recruitment
•2 weeks: 15K volunteers
•1 year: 55K volunteers
•2 years: 77K volunteers
– Participation involves:
•Planting sunflowers, 15‐minute observation samples
•Online garden description & data entry on Drupal site

18. eBird
• Collecting bird abundance and distribution data
– Launched in 2002 by Cornell Lab of Ornithology
(with National Audubon Society)
– Considered a “gold standard” by other projects
•Currently: 1.5M ‐ 2M observations/month
•2002 ‐ 2009: 21M observations, 35K users, 180K locations
– Participation involves:
•Choosing count method & recording bird observations
•Entering observations and metadata online

19. Galaxy Zoo
• Classifying images of galaxies
– Started in 2007 by a team of academic astronomers
– Instant success and exciting new discoveries
•Galaxy Zoo 1, Year 1: 50M classifications, 150K volunteers
•Galaxy Zoo 2, Year 2: 60M classifications in 14 months
•Galaxy Zoo : Hubble, Year 3: Launched April 2010
– Participation involves:
•Online visual classification tasks using a custom platform

20. Expected Contributions
• Practical and theoretical
– Citizen science
•Empirical study
•Theorizing practice
– Virtual organizations
•Extending theory
– Cyberinfrastructure
•Conceptualizing large‐scale collaboration

21. Summary
• What
– Comparative case study of virtual citizen science
• How
– Field research methods with qualitative analysis
• Why
– Provide context for technology design and
management in citizen science

22. Thanks!
• www.ebird.org
• www.galaxyzoo.org
• www.greatsunflower.org
• More:
– www.scienceforcitizens.net
– www.birds.cornell.edu/citscitoolkit/projects