@article {9999, title = {Shifting forms of Engagement: Volunteer Learning in Online Citizen Science}, journal = {Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction}, year = {2020}, pages = {36}, abstract = {

Open collaboration platforms involve people in many tasks, from editing articles to analyzing datasets. To facilitate mastery of these practices, communities offer a number of learning resources, ranging from project-defined FAQs to individually-oriented search tools and communal discussion boards. However, it is not clear which project resources best support participant learning, overall and at different stages of engagement with the project. We draw on S{\o}rensen{\textquoteright}s framework of forms of presence to distinguish three forms of engagement with learning resources: authoritative, agent-centered and communal. We analyzed trace data from the GravitySpy citizen-science project using a mixed-effects logistic regression with volunteer performance as an outcome variable. The findings suggest that engagement with authoritative resources (e.g., those constructed by project organizers) facilitates performance initially. However, as tasks become more difficult, volunteers seek and benefit from engagement with their own agent-centered resources and community generated resources. These findings suggest a broader scope for the design of learning resources for online communities.

}, doi = {10.1145/3392841}, attachments = {https://citsci.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/3392841.pdf}, author = {Corey Brian Jackson and Carsten {\O}sterlund and Mahboobeh Harandi and Kevin Crowston and Laura Trouille} } @article {9999, title = {Stages of motivation for contributing user-generated content: A theory and empirical test}, journal = {International Journal of Human-Computer Studies}, volume = {109}, year = {2018}, pages = {89-101}, publisher = {Syracuse University}, address = {Syracuse, NY}, abstract = {

User-generated content (UGC) projects involve large numbers of mostly unpaid contributors collaborating to create content. Motivation for such contributions has been an active area of research. In prior research, motivation for contribution to UGC has been considered a single, static and individual phenomenon. In this paper, we argue that it is instead three separate but interrelated phenomena. Using the theory of helping behaviour as a framework and integrating social movement theory, we propose a stage theory that distinguishes three separate sets (initial, sustained and meta) of motivations for participation in UGC. We test this theory using a data set from a Wikimedia Editor Survey (Wikimedia Foundation, 2011). The results suggest several opportunities for further refinement of the theory but provide support for the main hypothesis, that different stages of contribution have distinct motives. The theory has implications for both researchers and practitioners who manage UGC projects.

}, doi = {10.1016/j.ijhcs.2017.08.005 }, attachments = {https://citsci.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/crowston\%20fagnot\%20to\%20distribute.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston and Fagnot, Isabelle} } @article {2015, title = {Surveying the citizen science landscape}, journal = {First Monday}, volume = {26}, number = {1}, year = {2015}, month = {1/2015}, type = {Journal Article}, abstract = {

Citizen science has seen enormous growth in recent years, in part due to the influence of the Internet, and a corresponding growth in interest. However, the few stand-out examples that have received attention from media and researchers are not representative of the diversity of the field as a whole, and therefore may not be the best models for those seeking to study or start a citizen science project. In this work, we present the results of a survey of citizen science project leaders, identifying sub-groups of project types according to a variety of features related to project design and management, including funding sources, goals, participant activities, data quality processes, and social interaction. These combined features highlight the diversity of citizen science, providing an overview of the breadth of the phenomenon and laying a foundation for comparison between citizen science projects and to other online communities.

}, doi = {10.5210/fm.v20i1.5520}, url = {https://journals.uic.edu/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/5520}, attachments = {https://citsci.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/Surveying\%20the\%20citizen\%20science\%20landscape.pdf}, author = {Wiggins, Andrea and Kevin Crowston} } @booklet {2010, title = {SoCS: Socially intelligent computing to support citizen science}, howpublished = {Proposal submitted to the NSF SOCS program}, year = {2010}, attachments = {https://citsci.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/NSFmaster.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston} }