Astronomy has long been dominated by skilled amateurs, but the widespread adoption of the internet and smartphones has made geospatial data ubiquitous, and directions once only available on paper maps can now be updated in real time on your smartphone, taking traffic conditions into account.
Scientific relationships are also changing. Crowdsourced scientific data has transformed the way protein folding was obscured 15 years ago. Relevance everywhere.
That evolution will continue to be driven by how data is collected.
Credit: Emory University, Xiao Huang
According to the authors, urban planning, transportation and environmental monitoring have been particularly influenced by crowdsourced information, where user-generated data provides “unprecedented real-time views and community-driven perspectives that often lead to more responsive and adaptive decision-making processes.”
The same kind of data is also providing the commercial sector with more informed, customer-centric product development and marketing strategies.The significance of this change lies in the power it has given ordinary people to contribute and influence a field traditionally dominated by experts and authorities.This democratization has not only diversified the types of data available, but also provided richer, more multifaceted insights into human behavior and environmental change.
But the researchers said that despite such changes, there is still a need for a comprehensive and holistic view that links different data sources, such as social media platforms, to application areas such as public health and remote sensing.
“Our aim is to fill this gap and provide a comprehensive view of the uses and potential of crowdsourced geospatial data,” said Professor Xiao Fan of Emory University. “In this study, we conduct a thorough analysis of the current efforts, possibilities, and obstacles associated with crowdsourced geospatial data from two fundamental perspectives: human observation and Earth observation.”
Earth observation refers to data recorded by large organizations, such as academic or government institutions, as opposed to human observations on social media, for example. Combining these two perspectives, the researchers identified seven specific challenges: ensuring data quality and accuracy, protecting data privacy, training and educating non-experts, continuing data collection, resolving legal and ethical issues, and interpreting data. Their paper summarizes the current state of each field and possible paths forward.
“Crowdsourced geospatial data plays an important role and has great potential in enhancing human and Earth observation,” said Huang. “This data, provided by the public through various platforms, provides high-resolution spatiotemporal observations that may be missed by traditional methods. This comprehensive review paper highlights the democratization of data collection and its impact on various fields, and emphasizes the need to integrate these non-traditional data sources for more comprehensive and nuanced understanding and decision-making.”
The researchers identified three key future directions: leveraging the power of the crowd to expand the reach of geospatial crowdsourcing, cultivating a sustainable crowdsourcing ecosystem from motivation to retention, and translating crowdsourced geospatial data into real-world impact.
