European University Institute Library

Academic crowdsourcing in the humanities, crowds, communities and co-production, Mark Hedges, Stuart Dunn

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

index present

non fiction

Academic crowdsourcing in the humanities

bibliography

1012494001

Mark Hedges, Stuart Dunn

Chandos information professional series

crowds, communities and co-production

"The foundations of a theoretical framework for understanding the value of crowdsourcing. Crowdsourcing is becoming increasingly important to academia as the Web transforms collaboration and communication and blurs institutional and professional boundaries. Crowdsourcing projects in the humanities have, for the most part, focused on the generation or enhancement of content in a variety of ways, leveraging the rich resources of knowledge, creativity, effort and interest among the public to contribute to academic discourse. Moreover, they have largely been insular activities, identifying a specific challenge that crowdsourcing might be used to address, and then trying to meet the challenge using methods and technologies adapted from crowdsourcing in other areas, such as the sciences or business. However, collectively, these activities have raised important questions about the nature and value of such collaboration with the wider public, the processes it involves, the affordances it provides and the challenges it raises. This study addresses these questions by laying the foundations for a theoretical framework in which the value of crowdsourcing can be understood, based on a systematic analysis of crowdsourcing concepts, methodologies and projects that locate crowdsourcing within the family of related (but distinct) concepts such as 'citizen science,' the 'wisdom of crowds' and 'public engagement.' Key points: Addresses crowdsourcing for the humanities and cultural material ; Provides a systematic, academic analysis of crowdsourcing concepts and methodologies ; Based on a systematic research programme ; Situates crowdsourcing conceptually within the context of related concepts such as 'citizen science,' the 'wisdom of crowds' and 'public engagement.'"--, Provided by publisher

Introduction: Academic crowdsourcing from the periphery to the centre -- From citizen science to community co-production -- Processes and products : a typology of crowdsourcing -- Crowdsourcing applied : case studies -- Roles and communities -- Motivations and benefits -- Ethical issues in humanities crowdsourcing -- Crowdsourcing and memory -- Crowds past, present and future