Dr Peter Mooney | What are the problems in Crowdsourced Geographic Information?
What are the problems in Crowdsourced Geographic Information and what are we doing about them?
In recent years the crowdsourcing of geographic, scientific, social, movement, data and information has become a pervasive research topic in GIS, Computer Science, HCI, Visualisaiton, etc. Characterised as Big Data there is little doubt that this is a socially relevant, interesting and dynamic area of research to be involved in. As a Computer Scientist who wears a GIScience hat most of the time it is often difficult to state precisely which problems in these areas require computer science specific attention. In this talk we shall explore which key underlying Computer Science problems are being addressed by this growing body of research work and ultimately in the production of scientific knowledge. Are we constructing processes and solutions to specific crowdsourcing problems or are these approaches more fundamental and applicable in other situations? We shall explore a concise but comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art in Crowdsourced Geographic Information (CGI) as a specific case-study. Linkages to reproducibility and replicability are suggested and discussed. The talk will close with an attempt to map out some pathways for future research work in CGI, from a Computer Science and GIScience perspective.
Dr Peter Mooney
Maynooth University
Peter Mooney is a tenure track lecturer (~ assistant professor) at the Department of Computer Science in Maynooth University in Ireland. He has been working with spatial data and open source geospatial software for almost two decades now. Peter is recognised as one of the foremost experts in Europe on Crowdsourcing Geographic Information(CGI) and Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI). He has carried out extensive research on OpenStreetMap and other forms of VGI. He is particularly interested in how VGI can be integrated with other sources of geospatial data such as use by National Mapping and Cadastral Agencies in Europe. He is author or co-author of over 40 peer-reviewed journal publications and over 100 conference publications. In his teaching, research work and public engagement he is a passionate advocate for the use of free and open geospatial data and, of course, free and open software for geomatics. Peter is co-chair of the Irish OSGeo Local chapter and European Co-Chair for GeoForAll. In recent years he has been a member of the GISRUK Steering Committee. He has been involved in the academic and scientific committees for all major GIS conferences both in Europe and globally and is regularly involved in the organisation of research and collaborative-oriented workshops.