GEOG 583
Geospatial System Analysis and Design

Volunteered Geographic Information/Crowd Sourcing/Citizen Science

Volunteered Geographic Information/Crowd sourcing/Citizen Science

Volunteered Data can be classified (according to the reading below) into four categories based on framework (collected by the government), non-framework (collected by citizens), collected actively (campaigns that call for participation), or collected passively (geotagged information is provided willingly through apps and social media).

Diagram categorizing data types by passive/active collection and framework/non-framework nature.
A four-quadrant diagram categorizing data types by collection method and framework
Click for a text description.

Four quadrants, created by two intersecting axes. The horizontal axis represents Framework Data on the left and Non-framework Data on the right. The vertical axis represents Passive Data Collection at the bottom and Active Data Collection at the top. 

Top-Left Quadrant: Framework Data + Active Data Collection

This quadrant lists data sources that are actively collected and part of a framework:

  • Feature mapping: Includes addresses, buildings, elevation, points of interest, protected areas, rivers and canals, and road and rail networks.
  • Hiking and biking trails: Routes and trails for outdoor activities.
  • Gazetteer: Geographic dictionaries or indexes.
  • Cadastral parcels and other land administrative data: Information related to land ownership and boundaries.
  • Land cover/Land use: Descriptions of how land is used and its surface characteristics.

Top-Right Quadrant: Non-framework Data + Active Data Collection

This quadrant focuses on non-framework data that is actively collected:

  • Weather: Includes data from amateur weather stations, snowfall, and avalanche reports.
  • Environmental monitoring: Covers air and water quality, fracking, waste, and noise levels.
  • Biodiversity: Features species identification and geo-tagged wildlife images.
  • Disaster events: Information about natural and manmade disasters.
  • Crime/Public safety: Data related to criminal activities and public safety measures.

Bottom-Left Quadrant: Framework Data + Passive Data Collection

This quadrant includes framework data that is collected passively:

  • Transport: Data from road networks, satellite navigation systems, traffic data from services like TomTom, and Google traffic.
  • Feature mapping by Google via their game Ingress: A gamified way to gather geographic and feature data.

Bottom-Right Quadrant: Non-framework Data + Passive Data Collection

This quadrant lists non-framework data collected passively:

  • Google search data: Information derived from users’ search behavior.
  • Transport: Live feeds from buses, trains, and metro systems.
  • Mobile data/behavior: Information from store purchases, customer survey data, and mobile phone usage patterns.
  • Location-based social media: Data from platforms like Foursquare, Twitter, and Facebook.
  • Places of interest/travel: Includes geo-tagged photos, videos, stories, and travel advice.

Overall Structure

The quadrants illustrate how data collection methods and types vary depending on their alignment with a framework and the level of activity or passivity involved in their collection. The top quadrants represent active collection methods, while the bottom quadrants represent passive ones. Similarly, the left quadrants are more structured and formalized (framework), while the right quadrants are less structured (non-framework).

Credit: Needs credit

Volunteered Geographic Information can, at its most basic, be defined as geotagged data contributed by citizens, whether map-based or where location is simply an attribute in a much larger dataset. A very well-known VGI dataset, as mentioned previously, is OpenStreetMap. However, many other datasets exist, including:

  1. WAZE: a geospatial map, where users can place warnings for other users including police cars, traffic, potholes, and other road features
  2. Yelp, TripAdvsior, and other review-based apps: Leaving reviews of georeferenced stores/restaurants provides volunteered geographic data
  3. Survey123 is a great resource for volunteered geographic information and can include a variety of data sources including trail maintenance, lost dog and/or lost person tracking, wait lines, and many other.

Citizen science, as mentioned, is data that is collected by citizens that can be used by professional scientists for analysis. Many citizen science projects exist include:

  1. The Audubon Christmas Bird Count
  2. iNaturalist – an app where people can take pictures, identify, and geolocate animals and plants, which are then confirmed by a professional (in some cases). The confirmed cases can be used for scientific purposes
  3. EDDMapS (Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System) is a citizen science initiative to track invasive species
  4. Bumble Bee Watch: allows users to track and conserve bumble bees by uploading images and sharing information
  5. eBird: Users can take pictures of bird species, which allows scientists to track populations

See the reading below for more specific examples of VGI, crowd sourced, and citizen science initiatives.


References: