The TL;DR version: repeated exposure and active attention to primary materials can develop some historical skills; more learning happens through observing and participating in discussion.
Presentation for Creating Historical Knowledge Socially: New Approaches, Opportunities and Epistemological Implications of Undertaking Research with Citizen Scholars
Washington DC, October 2017
Abstract: This 20-minute presentation examines the extent to which crowdsourcing and 'citizen history' projects and discussion platforms enable and encourage the practice of historical thinking. It takes the definitions of historical thinking set out by scholars and institutional bodies and the American Historical Association's 'core competencies' for students in history courses and degree programs as cues for an extensive trace-ethnographic analysis of participant discourse on crowdsourcing and digital community history platforms. This analysis found evidence for the development of historical thinking, situated learning and collective knowledge creation through participation in online communities of practice. Crowdsourcing project forums support many of the behaviours considered typical of communities of practice, including problem solving, requests for information, seeking the experience of past behaviours, coordinating actions, documenting shared knowledge and experiences, and discussing developments. This paper draws on research undertaken for my 2015 PhD, Making digital history: The impact of digitality on public participation and scholarly practices in historical research, in which I explored the ways in which some crowdsourcing projects encourage deeper engagement with history or science, and the role of communities of practice in citizen history.
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Historical thinking in crowdsourcing and citizen history projects
1. Historical thinking in crowdsourcing
and citizen history projects
Dr. Mia Ridge, @mia_out
Digital Curator, British Library
Creating Historical Knowledge Socially: New Approaches, Opportunities and
Epistemological Implications of Undertaking Research with Citizen Scholars
Washington DC, October 2017
2. Overview
• Defining crowdsourcing, citizen history
• Defining historical thinking
• Crowdsourcing projects as opportunities for
learning historical thinking
• Crowdsourcing forums as communities of
practice for learning historical thinking
• Finding the limits
3. Asking the public to help with tasks that
contribute to a shared, significant goal or
research interest related to cultural heritage
collections or knowledge.
The activities and/or goals should be inherently
rewarding.
Crowdsourcing in cultural heritage
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nlireland/5786204856
4. Models for citizen history from citizen science
The crowdsourcing model: assisting scientists
through participation in data processing tasks
The scholarship model: some definitions
additionally include participants in data analysis
and research design
5. More engagement = less
productivity
https://www.flickr.com/photos/statelibraryofnsw/3072281873
6. A note on research methods
• Used 'trace ethnography' (R. Stuart Geiger;
David Ribes, 2011) on documentary traces of
computer-mediated communication,
particularly forum and social media posts by
participants and stakeholders
• Also reviewed project documentation,
publications, interface 'microcopy'
9. AHA core historical competencies
• the ability to engage in historical inquiry, research, and
analysis;
• to practice historical empathy;
• to understand the complex nature of the historical
record;
• to generate significant, open-ended questions about the
past and devise research strategies to answer them;
• to craft historical narrative and argument;
• to practice historical thinking
- American Historical Association (AHA)
10. Historical thinking I
• observation ('scanning and parsing' documents)
• sourcing (asking who made the document and why)
• making inferences
• citing evidence for arguments, posing questions
(cultivating puzzlement)
• corroboration (comparing what is found to other
documents and prior knowledge)
- Bill Tally and Lauren B. Goldenberg, “Fostering Historical
Thinking With Digitized Primary Sources,” Journal of Research on
Technology in Education
11. Historical thinking II
The 'five C's of historical thinking':
• change over time
• causality
• context
• complexity
• contingency
- Andrews and Burke, “What Does It Mean to Think Historically?”
20. Old Weather forum threads on the Spanish flu
http://forum.oldweather.org/index.php?action=printpage;topic=389.0
21. Old Weather forum threads on the Spanish flu
http://forum.oldweather.org/index.php?action=printpage;topic=389.0 https://blog.oldweather.org/2011/01/12/hms-africa-in-action-
against-orthomyxoviridae/
23. Historical thinking III
Jordanova on historians' skills:
• technical skills
• source-based skills - finding and evaluating
appropriate sources relevant to an identified
historical problem
• interpretative skills, including the 'ability to
construct a plausible argument'
- Jordanova, History in Practice, 2006
24. Evaluate citizen history on its own terms
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nationallibrarynz_commons/15815412282/
25. Citizen scholarship can be
• Designed
e.g. Children of the Lodz Ghetto, iSpot
• Emergent
e.g. OldWeather, Herbaria@home
26. Citizen scholarship can be
• Designed
e.g. Children of the Lodz Ghetto, iSpot
• Emergent
e.g. OldWeather, Herbaria@home
• Over-promised
– A critical mass of discussion is important
– Expert input in discussion is transformational
27. Thanks for listening!
Questions?
In the Spotlight http://playbills.libcrowds.com/
@LibCrowds newsletter http://eepurl.com/btvBKT
Dr. Mia Ridge, @mia_out
Digital Curator, British Library
Editor's Notes
I'm at the BL but this is largely based on my doctoral research, so any brickbats to me rather than anyone else
Abstract: This 20-minute presentation examines the extent to which crowdsourcing and 'citizen history' projects and discussion platforms enable and encourage the practice of historical thinking. It takes the definitions of historical thinking set out by scholars and institutional bodies and the American Historical Association's 'core competencies' for students in history courses and degree programs as cues for an extensive trace-ethnographic analysis of participant discourse on crowdsourcing and digital community history platforms. This analysis found evidence for the development of historical thinking, situated learning and collective knowledge creation through participation in online communities of practice. Crowdsourcing project forums support many of the behaviours considered typical of communities of practice, including problem solving, requests for information, seeking the experience of past behaviours, coordinating actions, documenting shared knowledge and experiences, and discussing developments. This paper draws on research undertaken for my 2015 PhD, Making digital history: The impact of digitality on public participation and scholarly practices in historical research, in which I explored the ways in which some crowdsourcing projects encourage deeper engagement with history or science, and the role of communities of practice in citizen history.
My definition is partly descriptive, and partly proscriptive (what it should be, as well as what it is).
'Citizen history' isn't as common as citizen science, different roots re public participation. Definitions of citizen science fall into two camps, not always clear which model people are referring to when they talk about projects.
Some people aren't comfortable with the balancing act. If people are busy posting on the forum or off researching names they've come across on documents, they're not undertaking the core tasks, so productivity is inherently less. But if one of your goals is to encourage learning, appreciation of collections, then that's ok
'Trace ethnography' (R. Stuart Geiger; David Ribes, 2011) - analysing 'documents and documentary traces'
Earliest examples dated back to late 1990s (FreeBMD), latest to 2014-15.
This is the kind of resource I used - patchy coverage but at least some early archives were saved by various sites.
Zooniverse originally created forums to help answer questions when busy after launch; but turned out to provide place for wonderful discussion. Here volunteers have compiled detailed guides to understanding handwriting on particular ships
Participant forums vital to success of project – answering questions, providing support and community. Knowledge is acquired through participation and discussion. Online forums support many of the activities typical of communities of practice, including problem solving, making and answering requests for information, coordinating activities and undertaking documentation projects. While the work itself may be solitary, communities of practice develop 'a shared repertoire of resources' including 'experiences, stories, tools, ways of addressing recurring problems'. While the original theoretical work on communities of practice involved in-person discussion, online communication, including social media, forums and discussion lists, similarly show many traces of the development of shared practices. Etienne Wenger-Trayner, “Communities of Practice: A Brief Introduction,” Wenger-Trayner, Undated, http://wenger-trayner.com/theory/.
Also a form of legitimate peripheral participation where 'newcomers start off by engaging in simple practices'. They're given opportunities for 'observing more experienced members of a community' as they work, while learning the 'tasks, vocabulary and organizational principles of the community'. Gabriel Mugar et al 2014
Further examined by project scientist, so had support of a range of experts, which may have provided validation for the value of collecting the information. An example of knowledge construction through discussion.
http://forum.oldweather.org/index.php?action=printpage;topic=389.0
Can be designed and supported with institutional resources, project design; designed but not supported e.g. promising interactions with experts but not resourcing that.
If projects are labelled 'citizen history', then expectations about the level of support provided can be set high. If projects don't attract people (amateurs, professionals) with the skills to share in discussion, participants may be disappointed. If you think back to LPP, need experts to observe modelling appropriate skills
