Oded Nov

What motivates Wikipedians

In order to increase and enhance user-generated content contributions, it is important to understand the factors that lead people to freely share their time and knowledge with others.

What drives content tagging: the case of photos on Flickr

We examine tagging behavior on Flickr, a public photo-sharing website. We build on previous qualitative research that exposed a taxonomy of tagging motivations, as well as on social presence research. The motivation taxonomy suggests that motivations for tagging are tied to the intended target audience of the tags --- the users themselves, family and friends, or the general public. Using multiple data sources, including a survey and independent system data, we examine which motivations are associated with tagging level, and estimate the magnitude of their contribution. We find that the levels of the Self and Public motivations, together with social presence indicators, are positively correlated with tagging level; Family & Friends motivations are not significantly correlated with tagging. The findings and the use of survey method carry implications for designers of tagging and other social systems on the web.

Dusting for science: motivation and participation of digital citizen science volunteers

Digital citizen science offers a low-cost way to strengthen the scientific infrastructure, and engage members of the public in science. It is based on two pillars:(1)a technological pillar, which involves developing computer systems to manage large amounts of distributed resources, and (2) a motivational pillar, which involves attracting and retaining volunteers who would contribute their skills, time, and effort to a scientific cause. While the technological dimension has been widely studied, the motivational dimension received little attention to date. To address this gap, we surveyed volunteers at Stardust@home a digital citizen science project, in which volunteers classify online images from NASAs Stardust spacecraft. We found that collective and intrinsic motivations are the most salient motivational factors, whereas reward motives seem to be less relevant. We also found that intrinsic and norm-oriented motives are most strongly associated with participation intentions, which were, in turn, found to be associated with participation effort. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Determinants of wikipedia quality: the roles of global and local contribution inequality

The success of Wikipedia and the relative high quality of its articles seem to contradict conventional wisdom. Recent studies have begun shedding light on the processes contributing to Wikipedias success, highlighting the role of coordination and contribution inequality. In this study, we expand on these works in two ways. First, we make a distinction between global (Wikipedia-wide) and local (article-specific) inequality and investigate both constructs. Second, we explore both direct and indirect effects of these inequalities, exposing the intricate relationships between global inequality, local inequality, coordination, and article quality. We tested our hypotheses on a sample of a Wikipedia articles using structural equation modeling and found that global inequality exerts significant positive impact on article quality, while the effect of local inequality is indirect and is mediated by coordination

Resistance to change and the adoption of digital libraries: An integrative model

It cannot be overemphasized that changes in concepts have far more impact than new discoveries

The Persuasive Power of Data Visualization

Data visualization has been used extensively to inform users. However, little research has been done to examine the effects of data visualization in influencing users or in making a message more persuasive. In this study, we present experimental research to fill this gap and present an evidence-based analysis of persuasive visualization. We built on persuasion research from psychology and user interfaces literature in order to explore the persuasive effects of visualization. In this experimental study we define the circumstances under which data visualization can make a message more persuasive, propose hypotheses, and perform quantitative and qualitative analyses on studies conducted to test these hypotheses. We compare visual treatments with data presented through barcharts and linecharts on the one hand, treatments with data presented through tables on the other, and then evaluate their persuasiveness. The findings represent a first step in exploring the effectiveness of persuasive visualization.

Technology-mediated contributions: editing behaviors among new wikipedians

The power-law distribution of participation characterizes a wide variety of technology-mediated social participation (TMSP) systems, and Wikipedia is no exception. A minority of active contributors does most of the work. While the existence of a core of highly active contributors is well documented, how those individuals came to be so active is less well understood. In this study we extend prior research on TMSP and Wikipedia by examining in detail the characteristics of the revisions that new contributors make. In particular we focus on new users who maintain a minimum level of sustained activity during their first six months. We use content analysis of individual revisions as well as other quantitative techniques to examine three research questions regarding the effect of early diversification of activity, nature vs. nurture, and associations with later administrative and organizational activity. We present analyses that address each of these questions, and conclude with implications for our understanding of the progression of participation on Wikipedia and other TMSP systems.

Development of a Mechatronics-Based Citizen Science Platform for Aquatic Environmental Monitoring

In this paper, we present the design and proof of concept of a low-cost, self-sustained mobile surface vehicle for environmental monitoring. The vehicle is equipped with water quality sensors and cameras for image acquisition and two thrusters allowing it to maneuver. The device is part of a citizen science system wherein volunteers help in the environmental recovery of polluted bodies of water by performing online research and classification tasks. While aiding in environmental recovery, the users become more proficient in wildlife classification and water quality assessment. Telemetry collected by the vehicle is wirelessly uploaded to a web-based interface allowing volunteers to access images, positioning information, and water quality sensor data. The citizen science system allows for the study of social networking and human-computer interaction based on user activity. Specifically, the platform can be utilized to experiment with different interfaces and social interactions in hypothesis-driven research on human-computer interactions.

A social capital perspective on meta-knowledge contribution and social computing

Recent years have seen a substantial growth of social computing, where large numbers of individual users share content with others in online communities. Social computing systems have thus led to a profusion of highly heterogeneous data, further exacerbating the traditional problems of knowledge sharing. This has made Meta-knowledge (knowledge about knowledge) important and more widely used, as it helps users locate knowledge easily. However, the reasons for peoples meta-knowledge contribution in the social computing context and the extent to which this may differ from traditional knowledge contribution remain largely unexplored. This gap is addressed in the present study. Building on social capital theory, and using a combination of survey and independent system data, we explore what affects individual meta-knowledge contribution on Flickr, a popular photo-sharing service.

Increasing Patient Engagement in Rehabilitation Exercises Using Computer-Based Citizen Science

Patient motivation is an important factor to consider when developing rehabilitation programs. Here, we explore the effectiveness of active participation in web-based citizen science activities as a means of increasing participant engagement in rehabilitation exercises, through the use of a low-cost haptic joystick interfaced with a laptop computer. Using the joystick, patients navigate a virtual environment representing the site of a citizen science project situated in a polluted canal. Participants are tasked with following a path on a laptop screen representing the canal. The experiment consists of two conditions: in one condition, a citizen science component where participants classify images from the canal is included; and in the other, the citizen science component is absent. Both conditions are tested on a group of young patients undergoing rehabilitation treatments and a group of healthy subjects. A survey administered at the end of both tasks reveals that participants prefer performing the scientific task, and are more likely to choose to repeat it, even at the cost of increasing the time of their rehabilitation exercise. Furthermore, performance indices based on data collected from the joystick indicate significant differences in the trajectories created by patients and healthy subjects, suggesting that the low-cost device can be used in a rehabilitation setting for gauging patient recovery.