Category:Crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing
The debate value of Wikipedia as a credible source has continued to remain a topic of discussion amid the masses of academia. Since its establishment in 2001 and with more than eighty-two thousand contributors, Wikipedia has become an informal gathering site where people can contribute, edit, evaluate, and utilize informal publications about any given topic (Ashman, 2012). Although widely used among individuals from all walks of life, the credibility and validity of Wikipedia has become a question of great concern. But why? The answer is crowdsourcing.

According to Howe (2006), crowdsourcing, " represents the act of a company or institution taking a function once performed by employees and outsourcing it to an undefined {generally large} network of people in the form of an open call. This can take the form of peer-production, but is also often undertaken by sole individuals. The crucial prerequisite is the use of the open call format and the large network of potential labors."

Although suited for its simple tasks, flexibility of its feedback, affordable pricing, and its extraordinary number of people input, its [crowdsourcing] disadvantages often times mirrors its advantages. With its cheap labor and issues of management, the end product may resonate in poor results (Stevens, 2012). Working with large populations, cheap labor, and no signed contracts, collaboration and work ethics among crowdsourcing peers may result in poor communication, disagreements, unreliable information, and oversharing products (Stevens, 2012).

With its disadvantages, crowdsourcing needless to say, often times resides somewhat in the middle. Crowdsourcing, sites such as Wikipedia should never be referenced and/or utilized as primary sources but rather, should be used as gained informal knowledge of the topic at hand. While there are individuals with great knowledge and expertise, there are those however, with limited insight on varies topics and issues. As for other crowdsourcing sites, some can become useful for some individuals if the number of peers working on a particular project is small, collaboration is strong, and the working knowledge of the student is solid. However, if crowdsourcing is the way to go, following certain guidelines can aid in the completion of the project: each individual must understand their specific role, each student must use reliable and credible sources, and all must weigh the options and measures of crowdsourcing when planning tasks and projects (Stevens, 2012).For more information regarding crowdsourcing see Crowdsourcing Systems on the World Wide Web: http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1924442; The rise of crowdsourcing: http://sistemas-humano-computacionais.wdfiles.com/local--files/capitulo%3Aredes-sociais/Howe_The_Rise_of_Crowdsourcing.pdf; and Following the crowd: http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1897824.