Examining the structures and practices for knowledge production within Galaxy Zoo - an online citizen science initiative

Thesis

This study examines the ways in which public participation in the production of scientific knowledge, influences the practices and expertise of the scientists in Galaxy Zoo, an online Big Data citizen science initiative. The need for citizen science in the field of Astronomy arose in response to the challenges of rapid advances in data gathering technologies, which demanded pattern recognition capabilities that were too advanced for existing computer algorithms. To address these challenges...

Expand abstract

Authors: Bantawa, B

• Publication date: 2014
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: Citizen Science; STS; Big Data Science; Epistemic Architecture; Expertise; Relational Expertise; Knowledge Production
• Subjects: Shaping the Internet; Ethnographic practices; Internet research; Education; Internet and science and learning