Research in the past decade, much of it by the European research community, has highlighted a strong participation bias in the crowdsourced mapping project OpenStreetMap (OSM) towards young, tech-savvy, men. Although scholars have problematized this trend, grounded in notions of representation, the material impacts of these biases remain poorly understood. Using demographic survey data collected directly from OSM users, current research funded by the UK Ordnance Survey (OS) and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) aims to both quantify and qualify the impacts of these biases by identifying the mapping behaviours and preferences of different demographic cohorts to provide an empirical grounding for the theoretical perspectives outlined above.

This AGILE Initiative will support engagement and collaboration with the European research community on these issues through the following activities:

1. Workshop activities on participation biases in VGI at AGILE 2019 to develop a future research agenda in collaboration with European partners
2. Guest lecture on participation biases in VGI at Maynooth University, Eire.

For further details or to discuss these activities please contact:

Zoe Gardner
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
(+44) 0115 951449