This document summarizes Andrea Wiggins' background and research interests in open source software, open science, and citizen science. Her research focuses on how technologies support distributed collaboration, open participation, and communities of practice in contexts like open source software development, scientific research, and citizen science projects. She is conducting a comparative case study of citizen science projects to understand the role of technology in public participation in scientific research.

1. Open Source,
Open Science,
& Citizen Science
Andrea Wiggins
24 Juin, 2011
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2. Où est Syracuse, NY?
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3. My Background
•BA: Mathematics with economics
•Nonprofit & IT industry work
–Adult literacy, nonprofit management
support, professional theatre
–Web analytics (online behavior analysis)
•MSI: Human‐computer interaction,
complex systems & network science
•PhD: Information science &
technology
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4. Research Themes
•How technologies support...
–Distributed collaboration
–Open participation
–Communities of practice
•Contexts
–Open source software http://www.flickr.com/photos/richardsummers/542738965/
–Scientific research
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5. My Research (to date)
•Open source software development
–Replication and extension of prior
research using secondary data
•eScience (& open science)
–Using eScience tools for open
science FLOSS research
•Citizen science
–Technologies supporting public
participation in scientific research
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6. Connections
Open Source
ing
Op
ar
Sh
en
&
Pa
ss
rti
ce
cip
Distributed
Ac
at
ion
en
Collaboration
Op
Open Citizen
Scientific Work
Science Science
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7. Free/Libre Open Source Software
•Distributed software
development by virtual teams
•Replication & extension
–Communication network
dynamics
–Estimating user interest and
adoption from software releases
and downloads
–Success and tragedy in FLOSS
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8. FLOSS Research Examples
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9. eScience &/or Open Science
•eScience != Open science
–eScience: research collaboration
that is fundamentally dependent
on technology
–Open science: research that is
publicly shared at all stages of
development
•Both involve sharing scientific
research artifacts
http://www.flickr.com/photos/radiorover/419414206/
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10. Open/eScience Example
•myExperiment
–Repository for research
workflows & artifacts
–Social networking tools
•Challenges
–Preserving relationships
between data, workflows,
& researchers
–Promoting participation
–Social barriers to sharing 10

11. Citizen Science
•Research collaborations
involving the public with
professional scientists
–Volunteers contribute data
collection or reduction
•Intelligent sensor networks
•Human computation systems
–Diverse contributors,
activities, expertise,
motivations, and goals
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12. Dissertation Research Questions
What is the role of technology in supporting
public participation in scientific research?
– How do virtuality and technology
alter organizing?
– How do virtuality and technology
shape participation?
– How do organizing and
participation processes influence
scientific outcomes?
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13. Dissertation Research Design
•What
– Comparative case study of citizen
science projects
•How
– Field research methods
(participation, observation, semi‐
structured interviews) and qualitative
(grounded theory) analysis
•Why
– Provide context for technology
design and management
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14. eBird
•Collects bird abundance and distribution data
–Launched in 2002 by Cornell Lab of Ornithology
(with National Audubon Society)
–World’s largest biodiversity data set
•2‐3M observations/month
•Currently >80M observations
–Participation involves:
•Selecting method, watching birds
•Entering observations online
•Data analysis as desired
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15. Great Sunflower Project
•Collects data on pollinator service (bees!)
–Started in 2008 by a single academic researcher
–Very successful in
volunteer recruitment
•1 year: 55K registered
•2 years: 77K registered
•3 years: 90K registered
–Participation involves:
•Planting sunflowers, 15‐minute observation samples
•Online garden description & data entry on Drupal site
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16. Mountain Watch
•Collects data on alpine air quality and wildflowers
–Started in 2004 by the Appalachian Mountain Club
–Integrates science & education
•Hikers learn about wildflower
life cycles and air quality
•Focuses on effects of climate
change in alpine areas
–Participation involves:
•Rating visibility in White Mountains
•Reporting wildflower life cycle stages along hiking trails,
either on paper or online 16

17. Next Steps
•Write & defend dissertation
•Get a job!
•Future research:
–Comparison of different
modes of participation in
citizen science
–Comparison of North American
projects to European projects
–Comparison of citizen science
to other online communities 17