How the Crowdsourced Spatial Data Revolution is Being Used to Complement Official Data

该研究项目侧重于新兴高科技技术的社会方面：众包，遥感和开放式地图。其目标是增进对开放、自愿提供的空间数据的作用的了解，以产生负责向所有公民提供服务的公共机构所需的知识。尽管众包地图包含建设抗灾社区和基础设施的重要信息，但很少有人将自愿提供的空间数据纳入官方地图。地方和国家公共机构可能缺乏对数据质量、遵守标准和完整性的信任。研究人员将仔细研究使用众包数据相对于官方地图的概念和实践，在一个小而有代表性的国家案例中，这些案例的特点是一系列的公共访问，技术和治理配置，即中美洲和美国边境地区。该区域利用了巴拿马、哥斯达黎加、尼加拉瓜、洪都拉斯、萨尔瓦多、危地马拉、伯利兹、墨西哥以及邻国哥伦比亚和得克萨斯州部分地区参与性跨境协调官方基础空间数据集的经验。调查结果将有助于扩大有关循证决策的知识基础。该项目将为在学术界和政府部门之间建立社区奠定基础，这些部门有兴趣分享和共同创造有关具体应用的知识，例如灾害、发展和基础设施服务。该研究团队将提供科学、技术和社会研究领域的理论见解，以及利用数据革命为公共利益带来潜在好处的实际想法。研究目的是：（a）更好地了解中美洲和美国边境地区何时何地可正式使用众包空间数据的障碍和接受条件这些活动的目的是：（a）在公众参与下，通过参与式研究，收集关于脆弱性的地理空间数据（盲点）;（B）更好地了解众包数据纳入官方数据来源后的影响;（c）通过参与式研究，让志愿学生制图员和官方制图员参与，制作缺失的关于脆弱性的地理空间数据（空白点）。混合方法的方法利用了研究团队的独特地位，作为指定的当局，委员会主席和泛美地理和历史研究所的成员，美洲国家组织的一个专门机构。研究人员将根据经验开发有关众包地理空间数据相对于官方制图的需求，机会，障碍，过程和实践的知识。该项目将利用重点小组、访谈、重大事件技术、广泛分发的网上调查、时间比较分析和参与性反馈，以英文和西班牙文编写同行审查的文章以及最佳做法出版物，供信息提供者、学者和决策者使用。该项目将培训和参与来自德克萨斯理工大学的学生进行这项研究，德克萨斯理工大学是美国为数不多的西班牙裔服务卡内基R1研究机构之一。学生将提高他们的劳动力准备高需求的地理空间技术职业。在华盛顿的美洲国家组织举行的最后一次专题讨论会将提供一个论坛，以便为可交付成果提供投入并进行传播。结果将有助于深入了解NSF的大创意，利用数据革命为21世纪世纪科学和工程。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过评估使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准的支持。

This research project focuses on societal aspects of emerging high-tech technologies: crowdsourcing, remote sensing, and open mapping. The goal is to advance understanding about the role of open, volunteered spatial data to produce knowledge needed by public institutions responsible for provision of services to all citizens. Despite that crowdsourced maps contain important information for building resilient communities and infrastructure, rarely are volunteered spatial data integrated into official cartographies. Local and national public institutions may lack trust of data quality, adherence to standards, and completeness. The researchers will closely examine the concepts and practices of using crowdsourced data relative to official cartographies within a small but representative set of national cases characterized by a range of public access, technologies, and governance configurations, namely Mesoamerica and the US Borderlands. This region of interest leverages experience with participatory cross-border harmonization of official fundamental spatial datasets in Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize, Mexico, and parts of neighboring Colombia and Texas. Findings will help expand the base of knowledge about evidence-based decision-making. The project will establish a foundation for building community across academic and government sectors interested in sharing and co-creating knowledge on specific applications, such as for hazards, development, and infrastructure services. The research team will provide theoretical insights within Science, Technology, and Society research as well as practical ideas to potentially harness the benefits of the data revolution for the public good.The research aims are (a) to better understand the barriers and conditions for acceptance when and where crowdsourced spatial data is available to be officially used in Mesoamerica and the US Borderlands (blind spots); (b) to better understand the impact of crowdsourced data when incorporated into official data sources; and (c) to produce missing geospatial data on vulnerabilities by engaging volunteer student mappers and official cartographers through participatory research (blank spots). A mixed-method approach leverages the unique positions of the research team as appointed authorities, commission chairs, and members of the PanAmerican Institute for Geography and History, a specialized arm of the Organization of American States. The researchers will empirically develop knowledge about the needs, opportunities, obstacles, processes and practices of crowdsourcing geospatial data relative to official cartographies. The project will use focus groups, interviews, critical incident techniques, broadly distributed web-based surveys, temporal comparative analysis, and participatory feedback to develop peer-reviewed articles as well as publications of best practices for use by informants, academics, and decision makers, in both English and Spanish. The project will train and engage students in this research from Texas Tech, one of only a few Hispanic Serving, Carnegie R1 Research Institutions in the US. Students will improve their workforce readiness for high-demand geospatial technologies careers. A final symposia at the OAS in Washington DC will provide a forum for input to deliverables and for dissemination. Results will contribute insight on NSF's Big Ideas, Harnessing the Data Revolution for 21st Century Science and Engineering.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.