[Talk-GB] Open survey on participation biases in OSM

[Gregory]

Hi Zoe,
Thank you for having an interest in OpenStreetMap and letting us know on
this mailing list!

I hope you're aware of the big selection-bias by asking the demographics of
users that read the talk-gb mailing list. Others have tried to look at OSM
diversity in the past, and I'd (personally) be more interested in how
diversity results vary depending on how you get the information (e.g. who
you ask) or if they've been changing over time.


I'm also interested in what initial preparation you have done for
researching OpenStreetMap. I have 4 starting points I would recommend
(others my disagree or have others):
* Take a look at https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Research and add your
name/focus to the list (go back again if/when you have a publication to
link to). I'm surprised Nottingham has nothing listed.
* Attend an OSM meetup or Missing Maps event (maybe both) to meet some of
the community in person. We don't bite, and many of us like to meet over
beer and/or cake.
* Edit the map, help out and make an improvement. Even if it's only adding
one missing shop or 5 house numbers. How can you study something with
millions of users if you don't look at how easy it is to join.
* Read Steve Coasts' The Book of OSM, and look for other sources or ask if
you think you need to know anything that gets mentioned but isn't explained.


I look forward to hearing how you get on and reading about some of your
outcomes.

All the best from Durham,
Gregory (LivingWithDragons).


On 4 September 2017 at 11:38, Zoe Gardner <zoegardner3 at gmail.com> wrote:

>
>
> Dear OSM talk-gb subscriber
>
>
>
> I am a Research Fellow in the Nottingham Geospatial Institute at the
> University of Nottingham, interested in participation biases in geospatial
> crowdsourced projects such as OSM and other Volunteered Geographical
> Information (VGI) projects. My current research project is concerned with
> the way in which participation biases in OSM may potentially affect the
> usability of the data that is collected and subsequently what is available
> to location based service providers which use OSM as their primary
> geospatial database.
>
> The project is motivated by recent research that has found a strong male
> bias in OSM participation. This has led to assertions that various
> geospatial knowledge could be under represented or poorly recorded on the
> map. However, the actual consequences of this bias remain little explored
> or reported. By collecting information about contributors to OSM, which can
> then be analyzed along with their editing patterns, the impacts of this
> bias might begin to be measured and therefore better understood. I have
> therefore published an online survey designed to collect information
> directly from OSM editors and I would like to invite as many of you as
> possible to participate. The survey is anonymous and takes a couple of
> minutes to complete.
>
> If you are an OSM contributor and are interested in or would like to
> participate in the study, please click on the link below, which will take
> you to the Bristol Online Survey website where you will find more
> information and an opportunity to participate in the survey. As a small
> incentive, at the close of the survey in a few weeks’ time, 60 respondents
> will be drawn at random to receive a £15 Amazon voucher.
>
>
>
> To participate in the survey, click on the link below:
>
>
>
> https://nottingham.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/osm-user-profiles
>
>
>
> Please do think about participating. It is hoped that knowledge about the
> way participation biases impact on crowdsourced maps will enable new
> strategies to be developed to address any resulting voids in the geospatial
> information provided by amateur mappers. In turn this could strengthen the
> role played by platforms such as OSM in urban planning and sustainability
> and raise the profile of the important mapping work that you all do.
>
>
>
> In the meantime, if you would like to know more about me, my research
> activities or the project, please visit my University webpage (link below)
> and do not hesitate to get in touch directly or via the OSM messaging
> service.
>
>
>
> https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/engineering/people/zoe.gardner
>
>
>
> Thank you
>
> Zoe
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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>
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>
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>
>
>
>
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>
>


-- 
Gregory Marler
No More Grapes
info at nomoregrapes.com
http://www.nomoregrapes.com
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