Understanding the Volunteer in

VGIChristopher J. Parker

Spatial SocialCultural Knowledge Workshop

15 June 2010

Overview

1.The language of Volunteered Geographic Information

2.Why human factors?

3.Current work

4.Future work

5.Summary

6.Discussion

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Overview

3

Overview

Research Questions

1 How is VGI being produced, who is producing it and how is it being utilised by the various associated users?

2 What influence the users ‘value’ in map mashup product, and how does volunteered information compare to professional information?

3 What is the perceived benefit to the user of including VGI with proprietary data?

4 What factors influence the users ‘trust’ in the volunteered or professional information presented through the map mashup?

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1 The Language of VGI

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OSM – State of the Map 2009

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1 The Language of VGI

Volunteered Geographic Information The creation of geographic information by largely untrained

volunteers (Goodchild 2007)

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Day 0 Day 10

1 The Language of VGI

Volunteered Geographic Information o The creation of geographic

information by largely untrained volunteers

o Neogeographyo Neogeography is the process of

take geotagged information (data) and layering it over a map.

o Information?o Geographic Informationo Geolocated Information

Data

Mashup (base map + data)

PROFESSIONAL CARTOGRAPHER

VOLUNETEER

USER

DESIGNER

What will the user think?

Do I THINK this is any good?

Will this make money?

Will this help people?

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Consumer

Volunteer

Neogeography

1 The Language of VGI

Data

Mashup (base map + data)

PROFESSIONAL CARTOGRAPHER

VOLUNETEER

USER

DESIGNER

What will the user think?

Do I THINK this is any good?

Will this make money?

Will this help people?

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www.housingmaps.comwww.Rottenneighbor.com

1 The Language of VGI

"Digital Earth is an integral part of other advanced technologies including: earth observation, geo-information systems, global positioning systems, communication networks, sensor webs, electromagnetic identifiers, virtual reality, grid computation, etc. It is seen as a global strategic contributor to scientific and technological developments, and will be a catalyst in finding solutions to international scientific and societal issues”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Earth

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1 The Language of VGI

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(Elwood 2008; Crampton 2008; Wozniak 2009; Zook, Graham 2007; Tulloch 2008; Aberley, Sieber 2010)

1 The Language of VGI

Neogeography

PGIProfessional Geographic Information

VGIVolunteered Geographic Information

VGLIVolunteered Geo-Located Information

Data

Mashup (base map + data)

PROFESSIONAL CARTOGRAPHER

VOLUNETEER

USER

DESIGNER

What will the user think?

Do I THINK this is any good?

Will this make money?

Will this help people?

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1 The Language of VGI

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PGI VGI VGLI

Information which can only come from the community it is focused on (e.g. most enjoyable bird watching spots by bird watchers)

Information which can come from trained professionals or volunteers (e.g. roads, street names, shops, etc)

Information which can only come from trained professionals (e.g. high accuracy soil maps)

OBJECTIVE DATA SUBJECTIVE DATA

1 The Language of VGI

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PGI VGI VGLI

2 Why Research Human Factors?

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2 Why Research Human Factors

o To date little research in this area

o Focusing on human issues may allow for higher ‘value’o Net benefits over net

sacrifices (Zeithaml 1988)

o Need to address the issues of usability of VGI productso Useful, usable, satisfying

to use15

2 Why Research Human Factors

Usability A set of attributes that bear on the effort needed for use, and on

the individual assessment of such use, by a stated or implied set of users (ISO 9126)

Human FactorsA philosophy based on the needs and interests of the user, with an

emphasis on making products usable and understandable (Norman 2002)

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3 Current Research

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3 Current Research

o The nature of VGI userso Who is producing VGI?o What are the relationships between users?o What data flow exists between users?

o The value of VGI to userso What perceptual benefits may be received from the use of VGI?o What concerns or tensions are felt by users of VGI which may affect

the user experience of VGI systems?o How do different types of users perceive the information they are

producing/ utilising?o How do the theories of consumer value associate with user

perceptions of VGI?

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3 Current Research

Research Questions

1 How is VGI being produced, who is producing it and how is it being utilised by the various associated users?

2 What influence the users ‘value’ in map mashup product, and how does volunteered information compare to professional information?

3 What is the perceived benefit to the user of including VGI with proprietary data?

4 What factors influence the users ‘trust’ in the volunteered or professional information presented through the map mashup?

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o 15 respondents o OpenStreetMapo Google Mapso GI Professionals

o Semi structured interviewso Focused on Personal

Value o ‘snowball’ non-probability

sampling

o In depth analysis with NVivo 8o Thematic analysis; 208

salient themeso Compared stakeholder

groups against one another

o Creation of a Rich Picture from results

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3 Current Research

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3 Current Research

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Consumers select their map product to best fit their circumstances with little loyalty to the brand:

Apart from using it like everybody does in terms of looking for places and directions, I’ve used Google My Maps, at the moment mainly for my own use... I’ve used it in a work context because I was trying to organise a meeting.

3 Current Research

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Special Interest Mapping Groups (SIMGs), contributors (SIMGCs) and professionals are particularly vested in the use of their groups’ map:

I’ll often check out to see if the local CTC has a website [same map project involved in] to see what’s on there. And being able to find where the tea places are in the locality is quite useful.

3 Current Research

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SIMGCs produce data for group members and external parties to use their data:

It’s mainly just a project to collect data... we hope other people will use it for whatever they feel free to use it for.

3 Current Research

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SIMGCs are less concerned about inaccuracies as they have a vested interest in improving the data - seeing gaps as opportunities:

It has its faults but there are no glaring errors... It’s very much if you don’t like it you can fix it yourself which appeals to my, well, sense of working I suppose.

3 Current Research

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SIMGs and professionals can be in constant tension with each other as their agendas and ideologies do not necessarily fit with each other.

It kind of annoys me that Google are potentially using the same kind of idea. [OpenStreetMap SIMGC]

3 Current Research

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Between professional bodies, business rivalry may exist but they work alongside each other.

I will be chatting to my opposite number at Microsoft, and my opposite number at Google... we shouldn't even be friendly for Christ's sake according to the old fashioned rules of how you do business, and those old fashioned rules don't really apply any more.

3 Current Research

3 Current Research

o The main stakeholder groups are identifiedo Consumers, o Special Interest Mapping Groupso Local Communities o Professionals

o The Rich Picture effectively provided context to the research outcomes and represented stakeholder relationships in an easily accessible fashion.

o Different stakeholders will perceive elements of VGI very differently, based on which stakeholder group they may be identified with.

o If considering value as the improvement to a stakeholder’s condition through utilising VGI, a salient increase in stakeholder value can be observed in all functional and work related perceptions

o The implication of this work should be to provide a framework of VGI stakeholders to be utilised within future user-centred VGI research

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4 Future Research

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4 Future Research

Research Questions

1 How is VGI being produced, who is producing it and how is it being utilised by the various associated users?

2 What influence the users ‘value’ in map mashup product, and how does volunteered information compare to professional information?

3 What is the perceived benefit to the user of including VGI with proprietary data?

4 What factors influence the users ‘trust’ in the volunteered or professional information presented through the map mashup?

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4 Future Research

1. What is the ‘value’ of volunteered data to the user in terms of benefit over and above professional data?

2. What is the perceived benefit to the user of combining VGLI with PGI in a map based product?

3. How does volunteered information impact upon the activities of user communities?

4. What factors influence the users ‘trust’ in the volunteered or professional information presented through the map mashup?

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4 Future Research

PGI VGI VGLI

Information which can only come from the community it is focused on (e.g. most enjoyable bird watching spots by bird watchers)

Information which can come from trained professionals or volunteers (e.g. roads, street names, shops, etc)

Information which can only come from trained professionals (e.g. high accuracy soil maps)

OBJECTIVE DATA SUBJECTIVE DATA

4 Future Research

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First Order Second Order

Be able to generate and contribute

information relative to their community

which can not be obtained by anyone

outside of their community (See

Figure 5.1).

Be aware that problems exist within

their activity, and these problems may

be overcome or reduced,

Be able to conceive of a ‘better’ way

of conducting their activity,

Open to utilising their current or

familiar objects (e.g. map, phone,

laptop, etc.) in a new and novel way in

relation to their activity.

4 Future Research

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4 Future Research

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Professional Information Volunteered Geo-Located

Information

o Under different tasks, information has different levels of importance

o Focus on where the VGLI may have a profound impact on the task at hand to demonstrate potential value of VGLI.

4 Future Research

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o Need information about water courses which may change dramatically

o Cover diverse information types from simple canals to dangerous white water

o Accessible, sociable and wide spread

o All year roundo Not tied to a single spoto Many different forms of

information needed for one trip

4 Future Research

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First Order Second Order

Be able to generate and contribute

information relative to their community

which can not be obtained by anyone

outside of their community (See

Figure 5.1).

Be aware that problems exist within

their activity, and these problems may

be overcome or reduced,

Be able to conceive of a ‘better’ way

of conducting their activity,

Open to utilising their current or

familiar objects (e.g. map, phone,

laptop, etc.) in a new and novel way in

relation to their activity.

4 Future Research

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Volunteered InformationLocal Kayaking group donate information about a selected course (test course) they are familiar with.

Volunteered InformationLocal Kayaking group donate information about a selected course (test course) they are familiar with.

Using VGLI enhanced productA non-local group is invited to the test course and provided with standard ‘traditional’ information sourced enhanced by VGI about the course.

Using VGLI enhanced productA non-local group is invited to the test course and provided with standard ‘traditional’ information sourced enhanced by VGI about the course.

Part 1 – Data Collection Part 2 – VGI Vs PGI in User Value

Using Standard PGI productA non-local group is invited to the test course and provided with standard ‘traditional’ information sourced enhanced by VGI about the course.

Using Standard PGI productA non-local group is invited to the test course and provided with standard ‘traditional’ information sourced enhanced by VGI about the course.

Professional InformationThe ‘professional’ information used by the Kayaking club for the test course is collected to be presented to later participants

Professional InformationThe ‘professional’ information used by the Kayaking club for the test course is collected to be presented to later participants

Information

Information

5 Summary

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5 Summary

o Research Aimo How volunteered information can be used with professional

information to produce products and services of higher user value than either VGI or PGI alone

o Presented a simple languageo PGIo VGIo VGLI

o Demonstrated how different user types perceive VGI different

o Proposal of research to demonstrate how volunteered information can provide value to the user over and above professional information

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www.UserGeneratedDesign.co.uk

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Thank You

References

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CRAMPTON, J.W., 2008. Cartography: maps 2.0. Progress in human geography, 33(1), 91-100.

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TULLOCH, D.L., 2008. Is VGI participation? From vernal pools to video games. GeoJournal, 72, 161-171.

WOZNIAK, S., August 21st, 2009-last update, Homebrew and how Apple came to be [Homepage of Atariarchives.org], [Online]. Available: http://www.atariarchives.org/deli/homebrew_and_how_the_apple.php [August 21st, 2009].

ZEITHAML, V.A., 1988. Consumer perceptions of price, quality, and value: a means-end model and synthesis of evidence. The Journal of Marketing, 52(3), 2-22.

ZOOK, M.A. and GRAHAM, M., 2007. Mapping DigiPlace: Geocoded Internet data and the representation of place. Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design, 34(3), 466-482.

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