Measuring Student Motivation for Participation in GIS Data ... › portal › sites › ajm › files › mcgowan.pdfIntroduction Humanitarian mapping is an effort in which volunteers

Bethany S. McGowan 475

portal: Libraries and the Academy, Vol. 20, No. 3 (2020), pp. 475–494. Copyright © 2020 by Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD 21218.

Measuring Student Motivation for Participation in GIS Data ActivitiesBethany S. McGowan

abstract: Activities using volunteered geographic information (VGI), geospatial data generated by nonprofessionals, provide an instructional approach that allows participants to work with big data—large, complex data sets—in a noncompetitive, cooperative environment. Research suggests that humanitarian mapping activities offer an effective means of teaching data literacy. What factors motivate student participation in VGI activities, and how can librarians leverage an understanding of these motivations to offer attractive data literacy services? This project seeks an answer by measuring student motivation across three mapping events. The results show that participants are driven by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors.

Introduction

Humanitarian mapping is an effort in which volunteers use open map data—geo-graphic information that is readily available online—to create free maps. Such map data include open-source satellite

imagery data and other geographic information system (GIS) technologies, global positioning system (GPS) coordinates, and local community insights. These mapping projects allow partici-pants to work in a collaborative environment with big data, data sets too large and complex to process with traditional handling techniques, and thus provide valuable data literacy instruction. Humanitarian mapping requires participants to be both data users and data creators as they consult satellite images and GIS data to create and share maps. Mapping allows them to engage and connect with a global community. It offers them the autonomy to select projects

Humanitarian mapping requires participants to be both data users and data creators as they consult satellite images and GIS data to create and share maps.

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Measuring Student Motivation for Participation in GIS Data Activities476

that interest them, for example, mapping specific geographical regions or areas recently impacted by disasters. Humanitarian mapping projects also provide a chance to criti-cally consider the implications of information generated from map data, for example, evaluating a community’s access to clean water or health services and then discussing the associated political and social ramifications.

In addition to offering a unique instructional approach, the free maps generated dur-ing humanitarian mapping provide a social service by supporting at-risk communities that would otherwise lack access to updated geographical information. The maps created can be used to improve pre- and post-disaster relief efforts, in health care assessments, and in analyses of economic development.

Extracurricular data and innovation competitions, such as hackathons, in which computer programmers collaboratively write code, and case competitions, in which

teams strive to develop the best solution to a business- or education-related issue, provide a student-centered instructional approach for teaching research data management and data literacy competencies. Such contests, however, often require participants to be well-versed in either a coding language or statistical analysis software. This requirement can be a barrier for many, particularly students with limited backgrounds in computing, learners new to working with big data, and people intimidated by the rivalry often associated with data and

innovation competitions. Research findings suggest that humanitarian mapping activities offer an effective means to teach data literacy and research data management competen-cies, with minimal coding or statistical expertise required.

What factors motivate students to participate in volunteered geographic information activities? How can librarians gain a better understanding of student motivation and thus offer more attractive data literacy services? This study seeks to discover the factors that inspire student participation in extracurricular, library-sponsored humanitarian mapping. We hypothesize that students will be highly motivated by the opportunity to work on a big data project with a tangible deliverable that can be showcased on their résumés and shared with potential employers.

History of the Humanitarian Mapping Movement

Three technological shifts allowed humanitarian mapping activities to gain traction in the first decade of the 2000s.1 First, the adaptation of Web 2.0 in 2004 transformed user experiences with the Internet. Websites began offering dynamic, responsive content that encouraged participation and fostered two-way information exchange between users and site managers—for example, providing options for online commenting and survey evaluations. Websites also introduced software as a service through application program interfaces (APIs), which allow software programs to communicate with each other, and through mashups—that is, webpages or Web applications that use content or

. . . humanitarian mapping activities offer an effective means to teach data literacy and research data management competencies, with minimal coding or statistical expertise required.

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functionality from more than one source to create a single new service. Websites began utilizing folksonomies, in which users rather than specialists generated electronic tags or keywords collectively to classify information for search and discovery. The Internet also began to embrace a wide spectrum of users rather than focusing on an audience well-versed in computer literacy.

Second, improvements in the affordability and accessibility of GPS and locational technologies provided greater autonomy with map data, allowing users to geotag—that is, assign a geographical location to—content and to more easily combine multiple data sets. Third, cloud-based computing allowed for increased freedom of movement as software became accessible on servers over the Internet.

These advances in technology directly impacted map creation. Historically, creat-ing and updating maps required specialized GIS expertise and expensive equipment, so most maps were drawn and maintained either by governmental mapping agencies or by commercial mapping companies. Government agencies were often limited by budget constraints and trends in official poli-cies, while commercial mapping companies were market driven. Consequently, areas with strong economies or governments that robustly supported and funded map services were typically well mapped, while others remained under-mapped. In many parts of the world, maps with even the most basic geographic information, such as driving routes and emergency and medical service locations, are unavailable.2 Humanitarian mapping and volunteered geographic information (VGI), geographic data collected and shared vol-untarily by individuals, helps to produce free, open source maps for unmapped and under-mapped areas.3

The humanitarian mapping movement relies on participatory geographic informa-tion systems (PGIS), which are founded on three practices: (1) public participation, (2) participatory rural appraisal, and (3) GIS.4 Public participation is the process by which an organization consults with those affected by a decision before reaching a conclusion. Public participation

• believes that those who are affected by a decision have a right to be involved in the decision-making process;

• promises that the public’s contribution will influence the choice;• promotes sustainable decision-making by recognizing and communicating the

needs and interests of all participants, including those of the decision makers; • seeks out and facilitates the involvement of those potentially affected by or in-

terested in an agreement; • seeks input from participants when designing and determining how they will

participate;• provides participants with the information they need to take part in a meaning-

ful way; and • communicates to participants how their input affected the decision.

In many parts of the world, maps with even the most basic geographic information, such as driving routes and emergency and medical service locations, are unavailable.

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Participatory rural appraisal is an approach that seeks to include the knowledge and opinions of local people in the planning and management of development projects for their communities. Geographic information systems (GIS) integrate, store, edit, analyze, share, and display information about the earth’s features. GIS applications enable users to create interactive queries, study spatial information, edit data in maps, and present the results.

The Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team

Humanitarian mapping had already become a popular movement in 2004 when British entrepreneur Steve Coast created the community-based mapping project OpenStreetMap. The 2010 Haiti earthquake underscored the desperate need for accessible maps and added impetus to the movement. The Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) became a leader in such mapping, providing resources and tools for volunteer mappers and train-ing materials to guide the hosts of OpenStreetMap mapping parties.5 HOT efforts helped produce free, regularly updated maps that relief organizations and nongovernmental organizations use to respond to disasters and economic and political crises.

The HOT Missing Maps Project applies the principles of open source, which em-braces open exchange, collaborative participation, transparency, and community-oriented development, and open data sharing, in which information can be freely used, shared, and built on by anyone for any purpose. Its core objectives support data literacy and research data management practices that many librarians will find familiar. These goals include collecting and organizing existing data sources, providing a distribution point for free data, developing open knowledge and tools, promoting crowdsourcing—that is, obtaining information, ideas, or services from many people via the Internet—and devel-oping simple Web standards for data sharing. These methods support deployments to the field, connect humanitarian actors and open mapping communities, provide remote data creation during crises, and develop technical improvements to OpenStreetMap maps in response to field requirements.6 Many librarians have recognized an alignment between these objectives and those of their libraries and institutions. As a result, many librarians embrace as a library service mapathons, events in which the public is invited to make online map improvements to improve coverage in their local area.7

OpenStreetMap maps are assembled by adding a series of layers, each of which references a set of geographic data and specifies the symbols and text labels used to portray that data set. The humanitarian map layer, for example, includes such informa-

tion as road types, homes, buildings, emergency services, and hospitals. Figure 1 illustrates a sample humani-tarian map.

interactive GIS learning opportunities like that provided by humanitarian mapping increase the participants’ ability to assess data reliability, improve their spatial reasoning, and develop their problem-solving ability.

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Figu

re 1

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Table 1.Intrinsic motivations for participation in volunteered geographic information (VGI)* activities

Intrinsic motivation Concept

Unique ethos Shared ideals, values, sentiments, or guiding beliefs in a group.Learning Learning from one’s own experiences and the experiences of others

in the community.Personal enrichment Participation results in increased intellectual or spiritual growth.Self-actualization The opportunity to develop and apply one’s talent, capacities, and

potential.Self-expression The opportunity to express one’s unique skills, abilities, and individuality.Self-image A sense of self is enhanced through the expression of one’s skills,

abilities, and knowledge.Fun Gains, self-gratification, and satisfaction are derived from the pleasure

of creation.Recreation Retaining a sense of renewal, regeneration, or reinvigoration through

volunteerism.Instrumentality Knowing that individual contribution is crucial to achieving a project’s

goal.Self-efficacy Having the skills and knowledge to meet group expectations.Meeting own need Joining a volunteer community that collectively develops products

and services that meet an individual’s own needs.Freedom to express Freedom to choose tasks and exercise creativity.Altruism Volunteerism is directed by altruistic motivation.*Volunteered

geographic information (VGI) is geographic data collected and shared voluntarily by individuals.

Factors That Motivate Participation in Volunteered GIS Activities

Research findings suggest that interactive GIS learning opportunities like that provided by humanitarian mapping increase the participants’ ability to assess data reliability, improve their spatial reasoning, and develop their problem-solving ability.8 Nama Budhathoki’s research on participant motivation in volunteered geographic information activities provides an analysis of motivational factors for participants. These reasons could also explain why students on a university campus take part in voluntary data literacy activities.9 Tables 1 and 2 list Budhathoki’s intrinsic and extrinsic motivations for participation in such activities.

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Methods and Materials

This paper analyzes data from three library-hosted humanitarian mapping activities, from November 2017 to May 2018, at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, a large STEM-focused research university. The researcher, a Purdue librarian, applied Bud-hathoki’s analysis of motivations for VGI involvement to the development of a survey tool that measures student motives for extracurricular, library-sponsored humanitarian mapping. The researcher created an aligning survey question for each of Budhathoki’s motivational factors using a 5-point Likert measurement. See Appendix A for an overview of how the factors corresponded to the survey questions and Appendix B for a copy of the survey. Print surveys were distributed at the end of each mapping event and returned to the librarian before participants departed. These print surveys were then transcribed and transferred to Qualtrics survey software for electronic storage.

Table 2.Extrinsic motivations for participation in volunteered geographic information (VGI) activities

Extrinsic motivation Concept

Career Using volunteer work to build and showcase skills for career opportunities, such as future jobs.

Strengthens social relations Participation depends on the reaction of others in the social network and the ability to strengthen social relations.

Project goal Participation is based on an analysis of the project goal and its likelihood of attainment.

Community Volunteers work to ensure their community is maintained and grows as a cohesive unit.

Identity A sense of identity is developed when an individual joins a group. Group norms guide individual behavior.

Reputation Volunteer contribution enhances individual reputation and boosts peer recognition.

Monetary return Participating for financial benefit.Reciprocity Volunteers know their contribution will not be exploited.System trust Contributions are based on a trust in the reliability of a system’s

technical infrastructure.Networking Volunteering is directly linked to an individual’s opportunity to

network with community members—the larger the network, the greater the contribution.

Sociopolitical Participation is based on sociopolitical motives.

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The Purdue University Libraries hosted the first of three mapping activities in con-junction with national GIS Day events, an annual celebration of geographic information systems. The event was an extracurricular activity marketed and open to undergraduate and graduate students from all disciplines. The other two mapping events were also open to all disciplines, but the marketing aimed at upper-class health sciences students. Budhathoki’s findings were used to inform the recruitment material. Figure 2 shows a circular used to publicize a mapathon at Purdue (see Figure 2). Marketing efforts in-cluded collaboration with the libraries’ marketing team on such outreach efforts as print and digital signage in library buildings, advertisement on the libraries’ social media platforms, print flyers in relevant campus buildings, e-mail reminders to participants the day before the events, and in-person invitations from the librarian in senior-level health sciences courses.

Figure 2. A circular used at Purdue University Libraries in West Lafayette, Indiana, to publicize a mapathon, a mapping event in which the public is invited to make online map improvements to assist disaster relief efforts.

The researcher’s exploration into humanitarian mapping activities relied on re-sources from the Missing Maps Project. The array of options offered by the project—for example, the choice to map as an individual or as part of a mapping party, the training materials provided for individual mappers and mapathon hosts, and an established low-barrier technical system—made the Missing Maps Project a practical choice.

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Results

The Purdue University Libraries’ three mapping activities took place between Novem-ber 2017 and May 2018, with a total of 82 participants. Sixty-nine surveys measuring participants’ motivations for taking part in humanitarian mapping were returned. Table 3 summarizes participant responses.

Measuring the Correlation between Participant Responses

The researcher conducted a correlation analysis to measure the strength of the relation-ships between each motivational factor to reveal complementary factors. Understanding how motives complement one another may help librarians plan, market, and execute data literacy services with themes that their target audiences find appealing.

Correlation matrices reveal dependence or association between seemingly random variables. Correlation is defined numerically by a correlation coefficient, a value rang-ing from –1 to 1. If Y tends to increase along with X, there is a positive relationship; if Y decreases as X increases, there is a negative relationship. A coefficient value of –1 is a perfect negative linear correlation, while a +1 coefficient value is a perfect positive linear correlation. A correlation of 0 indicates no linear correlation. Correlation does not equal causation—because X and Y are correlated in some way does not mean that X causes a change in Y, it simply means that the X and Y tend to occur together. This analysis as-sumes that variables are representative of the whole population, that data are normally distributed, and that a linear relationship exists between variables.

Survey responses were based on a 5-point Likert measurement, coded for analysis as follows: strongly disagree = –2; disagree = –1; neutral = 0; agree = 1; strongly agree = 2. A correlation matrix was created with the data analysis tools in Microsoft Excel, using the Pearson correlation coefficient. A correlation of 0.5 or higher is considered statistically significant. Table 4 provides guidelines for correlation matrix interpretation.

The software packages R and RStudio, corrplot, readxl, maggrittr, and tidyverse were used to create graphical displays of the correlation matrix, one of which is shown in Figure 3. In the figure, ellipses represent correla-tions; perfectly aligned factors look like straight diagonal lines and expand into fuller ellipses as correlation decreases.

Numerous responses met the criteria for a significant correlation, but responses from several questions scored a +1 coefficient value, a perfect positive linear correlation. These perfectly aligned correlations are listed in Appendix C.

Discussion

Library-sponsored, extracurricular humanitarian mapping activities were well received by students, and participant feedback was positive. Results from the correlational analysis support the original hypothesis that students are inspired to take part in humanitarian mapping activities to display their data literacy skills to potential employers and to add value to their résumés. Analysis also reveals that most factors that motivated VGI participation among Budhathoki’s online participants hold true for those who took part in the libraries’ activities.

. . . students are inspired to take part in humanitarian mapping activities to display their data literacy skills to potential employers and to add value to their résumés.

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Tabl

e 3.

Re

sults

from

a su

rvey

of p

artic

ipan

ts’ m

otiv

atio

ns fo

r tak

ing

part

in a

hum

anita

rian

map

ping

pro

ject

Mot

ivat

iona

l fac

tor

Su

rvey

mea

sure

men

t

Part

icip

ant r

espo

nse

Lear

ning

Q

1. I

feel

confi

dent

in m

y un

ders

tand

ing

of th

e ro

le o

f ope

n m

ap d

ata

in cr

eatin

g 57

agr

ee, 1

2 st

rong

ly a

gree

info

rmat

ion

for a

reas

whe

re h

uman

itaria

n re

lief i

s nee

ded.

Q

2. I

feel

confi

dent

in m

y ab

ility

to u

se th

e O

penS

tree

tMap

(OSM

) tas

k m

anag

er

46 a

gree

, 23

stro

ngly

agr

ee

to

sele

ct a

n in

tere

stin

g m

appi

ng ta

sk.

Q

3. I

feel

confi

dent

in m

y ab

ility

to a

dd b

ase

data

, lik

e bu

ildin

gs a

nd ro

ads,

to

57 a

gree

, 12

stro

ngly

agr

ee

O

penS

tree

tMap

.

Q4.

I fe

el co

nfide

nt in

my

abili

ty to

use

sate

llite

imag

e da

ta to

trac

e bu

ildin

gs a

nd ro

ads.

57 a

gree

, 6 st

rong

ly a

gree

, 6

neut

ral

Q

5. C

ontr

ibut

ing

to th

is h

uman

itaria

n m

appi

ng e

vent

hel

ped

build

my

map

ping

skill

s. 57

agr

ee, 1

2 st

rong

ly a

gree

Q6.

Con

trib

utin

g to

this

hum

anita

rian

map

ping

eve

nt h

elpe

d m

e hi

nk a

bout

pot

entia

l 46

agr

ee, 2

3 st

rong

ly a

gree

t app

licat

ions

for o

pen

map

dat

a.

Q7.

Con

trib

utin

g to

this

hum

anita

rian

map

ping

eve

nt h

elp

me

46

agr

ee, 2

3 st

rong

ly a

gree

de

velo

p ne

w p

ersp

ectiv

es a

bout

wor

ld g

eogr

aphy

that

I ca

n re

late

to m

y di

scip

line.

Q8.

Hum

anita

rian

map

ping

has

impr

oved

my

confi

denc

e in

wor

king

with

big

57

agr

ee, 1

2 st

rong

ly a

gree

data

and

dig

ital i

nfra

str u

ctur

e.

Uni

que

etho

s Q

9. D

igita

l map

s sho

uld

be a

vaila

ble

for f

ree.

46

agr

ee, 2

3 st

rong

ly a

gree

Pers

onal

enr

ichm

ent

Q10

. Con

trib

utin

g to

this

hum

anita

rian

map

ping

eve

nt w

as a

n en

richi

ng p

erso

nal

46 a

gree

, 23

stro

ngly

agr

ee

ex

perie

nce.

Self-

actu

aliz

atio

n Q

11. O

SM h

as e

nabl

ed m

e to

bui

ld m

y da

ta li

tera

cy sk

ills.

46 a

gree

, 23

stro

ngly

agr

ee

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Fun

Q12

. I fi

nd m

ap d

ata

and

GIS

app

licat

ions

inte

rest

ing.

57

agr

ee, 1

2 ne

utra

l

Q13

. I e

njoy

ed co

ntrib

utin

g to

this

hum

anita

rian

map

ping

eve

nt.

57 a

gree

, 6 st

rong

ly a

gree

, 6 n

eutr

al

Q14

. See

ing

my

cont

ribut

ion

appe

ar o

n th

e O

SM m

ap w

as g

ratif

ying

. 46

agr

ee, 2

3 st

rong

ly a

gree

Q

15. U

sing

a G

IS a

pplic

atio

n to

ent

er m

ap d

ata

was

enj

oyab

le.

57 a

gree

, 12

neut

ral

Net

wor

king

Q

16. M

eetin

g ne

w p

eopl

e w

hile

par

ticip

atin

g in

this

hum

anita

rian

map

ping

61

agr

ee, 8

stro

ngly

agr

ee

ev

ent w

as e

njoy

able

.

Self-

effica

cy

Q17

. My

cont

ribut

ions

are

as g

ood

as th

ose

of o

ther

s. 23

stro

ngly

agr

ee, 2

3 ne

utra

l, 23

agr

ee

Mee

ting

self

need

s Q

18. I

wou

ld co

ntrib

ute

to fu

ture

OSM

eve

nts t

o cr

eate

map

s tha

t 57

agr

ee, 1

2 ne

utra

l

supp

ort m

y r e

sear

ch in

tere

sts.

Free

dom

to e

xpre

ss

Q19

. I a

ppre

ciat

ed th

e fr

eedo

m to

sele

ct a

reas

to m

ap.

57 a

gree

, 12

neut

ral

Altr

uism

Q

20. T

hose

who

nee

d ac

cess

to fr

ee m

aps w

ill u

se m

y O

SM co

ntrib

utio

n.

57 a

gree

, 12

neut

ral

Q

21. I

t is i

mpo

rtan

t to

help

oth

ers b

y pr

ovid

ing

map

s tha

t are

free

ly a

vaila

ble.

57

agr

ee, 1

2 ne

utra

l C

aree

r Q

22. I

will

use

my

OSM

pro

file

to d

ispl

ay m

y da

ta li

tera

cy sk

ills t

o po

tent

ial e

mpl

oyer

s. 61

stro

ngly

agr

ee, 8

agr

ee

Q

23. M

y O

SM e

xper

ienc

e w

ill a

dd v

alue

to m

y ré

sum

é.

61 st

rong

ly a

gree

, 8 a

gree

Proj

ect g

oal

Q24

. I b

elie

ve th

at th

e O

SM g

oal,

to cr

eate

a fr

ee m

ap o

f the

wor

ld, i

s ach

ieva

ble.

57

agr

ee, 1

2 ne

utra

l C

omm

unity

Q

25. C

omm

unity

inpu

t is n

eces

sary

to d

evel

op a

wor

ld m

ap.

57 st

rong

ly a

gree

, 12

agre

e

Reci

proc

ity

Q26

. The

righ

t to

use

OSM

map

s sho

uld

be b

ased

on

how

muc

h da

ta

38 d

isag

ree,

31

agre

e

one

has c

ontr

ibut

ed to

OSM

.

Q

27. O

SM u

sers

shou

ld a

ctiv

ely

cont

ribut

e ge

ogra

phic

dat

a to

the

proj

ect.

57 a

gree

, 12

neut

ral

Soci

opol

itica

l Q

28. O

SM p

artic

ipat

ion

allo

wed

me

to co

nsid

er so

cial

issu

es—

39

agr

ee, 1

5 st

rong

ly a

gree

, 15

neut

ral

en

vir o

nmen

tal,

geog

raph

ical

, pol

itica

l, et

c.—th

at a

re re

leva

nt to

my

disc

iplin

e.

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Table 4. Guidelines for correlation matrix interpretation Correlation Strength of linear relationship

(+/–)1 Perfect (+/–)0.8 to (+/–)0.99 Very strong (+/–)0.5 to (+/–)0.79 Strong (+/–)0.2 to (+/–)0.49 Weak (+/–)0.0 to (+/–)0.19 None to extremely weak

Figure 3. A motivation correlation matrix created for this study with the software package corrplot. Ellipses represent correlations; perfectly aligned factors resemble straight diagonal lines and expand into fuller ellipses as correlation decreases.

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Two questions that relate to the extrinsic motivation factors barely correlated to any other question. They were Q25—“Community input is necessary to develop a world map”—and Q26—“The right to use OSM maps should be based on how much data one has contributed to OSM.” Correlation analysis results suggest that mapathon participants lacked a clear understanding of how these factors related to others. Better instruction may be needed, specifically more teaching around how principles of public participa-tion relate to mapping tasks. These will be reconsidered in a future survey redesign.

Also noteworthy is the potential risk of bias in the survey data. For this project, the researcher created the survey, led instructional sessions, and hosted the mapathons alone. Participants were exposed to her instruction and guidance throughout the map-ping process, and their responses might have skewed in favor of the instructor’s biases. Future action might include multi-institutional or multi-librarian collaborations to test if this project’s findings hold true for other academic librarians. Also, this event was an optional extracurricular activity, and participants had already volunteered for a humani-tarian mapping project, which presents another potential bias.

Conclusion and Next Steps

We plan to continue offering extracurricular humanitarian mapping activities, using this project’s findings to design mapping opportunities that better fit participants’ interests and needs. Next steps might include offering a for-credit course or an independent study opportunity that integrates humanitarian mapping, requiring students to complete a mapping project and use the information from the maps they create to investigate related sociopolitical or health aspects. Another approach might be to offer two-part mapping events, with mapping parties complemented by a brief lecture on openness, principles of public participation, participatory rural appraisal, or similar topics.

Bethany S. McGowan is an assistant professor of library science and a health sciences information specialist in the Library of Engineering and Science at Purdue University Libraries and School of Information Studies in West Lafayette, Indiana; she may be reached by email at: [email protected].

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Appendix A

Budhathoki’s Motivational Factors Mapped to Survey Measurements

Motivational factor Survey measurement

Learning I understand the role of open map data in the creation of free maps. I feel confident in my ability to use the OpenStreetMap (OSM) task

manager to select an interesting mapping task. I feel confident in my ability to add base data, like buildings and roads,

to OpenStreetMap. I feel confident in my ability to use satellite image data to trace buildings

and roads. Contributing to this humanitarian mapping event helped build my

mapping skills. Contributing to this humanitarian mapping event helped me think

about potential applications for open map data. Contributing to this humanitarian mapping event helped me develop

new perspectives about world geography that I can relate to my discipline.

Humanitarian mapping has improved my confidence in working with big data and digital infrastructure.

Unique ethos Digital maps should be available for free.Personal enrichment Contributing to this humanitarian mapping event was an enriching

personal experience.Self-actualization OSM has enabled me to build my data literacy skills.Fun I find map data and GIS applications interesting. I enjoyed contributing to this humanitarian mapping event. Seeing my contribution appear on the OSM map was gratifying. Using a GIS application to enter map data was enjoyable.Networking Meeting new people while participating in this humanitarian mapping

event was enjoyable.Self-efficacy My contributions are as good as those of others.Meeting self needs I would contribute to future OSM events to create maps that support

my research interests.Freedom to express I appreciated the freedom to select areas to map.Altruism Those who need access to free maps will use my OSM contribution. It is important to help others by providing maps that are freely

available.Career I will use my OSM profile to display my data literacy skills to potential

employers. My OSM experience will add value to my résumé.

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Project goal I believe that the OSM goal, to create a free map of the world, is achievable.

Community Community input is necessary to develop a world map.Reciprocity The right to use OSM maps should be based on how much data one

has contributed to OSM. OSM users should actively contribute geographic data to the project.Sociopolitical OSM participation allowed me to consider social issues—

environmental, geographical, political, etc.—that are relevant to my discipline.

Appendix B

Survey to Measure Participant Motivation in Humanitarian Mapping Events

Please circle the appropriate response.

Question Survey question Response number

1 I understand the role of open map Strongly disagree / Disagree / Neutral / data in the creation of free maps. Agree / Strongly agree

2 I feel confident in my ability to Strongly disagree / Disagree / Neutral / use the OpenStreetMap (OSM) task Agree / Strongly agree manager to select an interesting mapping task.

3 I feel confident in my ability to add Strongly disagree / Disagree / Neutral / base data, like buildings and roads, Agree / Strongly agree to OpenStreetMap.

4 I feel confident in my ability to use Strongly disagree / Disagree / Neutral / satellite image data to trace buildings Agree / Strongly agree and roads.

5 Contributing to this humanitarian Strongly disagree / Disagree / Neutral / mapping event helped build my Agree / Strongly agree mapping skills.

6 Contributing to this humanitarian Strongly disagree / Disagree / Neutral / mapping event helped me think Agree / Strongly agree about potential applications for open map data.

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Question Survey question Response number

7 Contributing to this humanitarian Strongly disagree / Disagree / Neutral / mapping event help me develop new Agree / Strongly agree perspectives about world geography that I can relate to my discipline.

8 Humanitarian mapping has Strongly disagree / Disagree / Neutral / improved my confidence in working Agree / Strongly agree

with big data and digital infrastructure.

9 Digital maps should be available for Strongly disagree / Disagree / Neutral / free. Agree / Strongly agree

10 Contributing to this humanitarian Strongly disagree / Disagree / Neutral / mapping event was an enriching Agree / Strongly agree personal experience.

11 OSM has enabled me to build my Strongly disagree / Disagree / Neutral / data literacy skills. Agree / Strongly agree

12 I find map data and GIS applications Strongly disagree / Disagree / Neutral / interesting. Agree / Strongly agree

13 I enjoyed contributing to this Strongly disagree / Disagree / Neutral / humanitarian mapping event. Agree / Strongly agree

14 Seeing my contribution appear on Strongly disagree / Disagree / Neutral / the OSM map was satisfying. Agree / Strongly agree

15 Using a GIS application to enter Strongly disagree / Disagree / Neutral / map data was enjoyable. Agree / Strongly agree

16 Meeting new people while Strongly disagree / Disagree / Neutral / participating in this humanitarian Agree / Strongly agree mapping event was enjoyable.

17 My contributions are as good as Strongly disagree / Disagree / Neutral / those of others. Agree / Strongly agree

18 I would contribute to future OSM Strongly disagree / Disagree / Neutral / events to create maps that support Agree / Strongly agree my research interests.

19 I appreciated the freedom to select Strongly disagree / Disagree / Neutral / areas to map. Agree / Strongly agree

20 Those who need access to free maps Strongly disagree / Disagree / Neutral / will use my OSM contribution. Agree / Strongly agree

21 It is important to help others by Strongly disagree / Disagree / Neutral / providing maps that are freely Agree / Strongly agree available.

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22 I will use my OSM profile to display Strongly disagree / Disagree / Neutral / my data literacy skills to potential Agree / Strongly agree employers.

23 My OSM experience will add Strongly disagree / Disagree / Neutral / value to my résumé. Agree / Strongly agree

24 I believe that the OSM goal, to Strongly disagree / Disagree / Neutral / create a free map of the world, is Agree / Strongly agree achievable.

25 Community input is necessary to Strongly disagree / Disagree / Neutral / develop a world map. Agree / Strongly agree

26 The right to use OSM maps should Strongly disagree / Disagree / Neutral / be based on how much data one has Agree / Strongly agree c ontributed to OSM.

27 OSM users should actively contribute Strongly disagree / Disagree / Neutral / geographic data to the project. Agree / Strongly agree28 OSM participation allowed me to Strongly disagree / Disagree / Neutral / consider social issues— Agree / Strongly agree environmental, geographical, political, etc.— that are relevant to my discipline.

Appendix C

Perfectly Aligned Motivations for Participation in Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) Activities

Twelve questions had perfectly aligned correlations. They were the following:

Q1. I feel confident in my understanding of the role of open map data in creating information for areas where humanitarian relief is needed.

Q1 perfectly correlates to: (a) I feel confident in my ability to add base data, like build-ings and roads, to OpenStreetMap; (b) Contributing to this humanitarian mapping event helped build my mapping skills; (c) Humanitarian mapping has improved my confidence in working with big data and digital infrastructure. These correlations suggest that taking part in humanitarian mapping activities, such as instruction in and practice adding base map data, complements participants’ confidence in working with big data and digital infrastructure. The work also augments their faith that they understand how to use map data to create a useful information source. These correlations also indicate that students who complete mapping activities feeling confident in their ability to add

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base data to maps will share a similar level of self-assurance in working with big data and digital infrastructure.

Q2. I feel confident in my ability to use the OpenStreetMap (OSM) task manager to select an interesting mapping task.

Q2 perfectly correlates to: (a) Contributing to this humanitarian mapping event helped me think about potential applications for open map data; (b) Contributing to this hu-manitarian mapping event help me develop new perspectives about world geography that I can relate to my discipline; (c) Digital maps should be available for free; (d) OSM has enabled me to build my data literacy skills; and (e) Seeing my contribution appear on the OSM map was gratifying. The ability to use the OSM task manager to select a mapping task correlates to how participants think about creative uses for open map data; how they develop new perspectives about world geography, and potentially about international relations or international policy; how they evolve concepts of openness or open access, specifically around free digital maps access; how they build data literacy skills; and their gratification from seeing their selected task to completion and having their contribution appear on the OSM map. These results suggest that students begin a critical appraisal of their mapping experience at the beginning of the mapping process with their selection of a mapping task.

Q3. I feel confident in my ability to add base data, like buildings and roads, to OpenStreetMap.

Q3 perfectly correlates to: (a) Contributing to this humanitarian mapping event helped build my mapping skills; and (b) Humanitarian mapping has improved my confidence in working with big data and digital infrastructure. Participants who reported feeling confident in their ability to add base data to OSM also reported that humanitarian map-ping built their mapping skills and improved their assurance in working with big data and digital infrastructure.

Q5. Contributing to this humanitarian mapping event helped build my mapping skills.

Q5 perfectly correlates to: (a) Humanitarian mapping has improved my confidence in working with big data and digital infrastructure. Participants who thought that humani-tarian mapping helped build their mapping skills also reported increased assurance in working with big data and digital infrastructure.

Q6. Contributing to this humanitarian mapping event helped me think about potential applica-tions for open map data.

Q6 perfectly correlates to: (a) Contributing to this humanitarian mapping event help me develop new perspectives about world geography that I can relate to my discipline; (b) Digital maps should be available for free; (c) OSM has enabled me to build my data literacy skills; and (d) Seeing my contribution appear on the OSM map was gratifying. Participants who thought humanitarian mapping helped them think about potential

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applications for open map data also reported that they developed new perspectives about world geography, thought digital maps should be freely available, built their data literacy skills, and were gratified by seeing their OSM contribution appear on the map.

Q7. Contributing to this humanitarian mapping event help me develop new perspectives about world geography that I can relate to my discipline.

Q7 perfectly correlates to: (a) Digital maps should be available for free; (b) OSM has enabled me to build my data literacy skills; and (c) Seeing my contribution appear on the OSM map was gratifying. Participants who reported that participation in humanitarian mapping helped them develop new perspectives about world geography and thought that digital maps should be freely available indicated that OSM participation built their data literacy skills and found seeing their contribution on the OSM map gratifying.

Q9. Digital maps should be available for free.

Q9 perfectly correlates to: (a) OSM has enabled me to build my data literacy skills; and (b) Seeing my contribution appear on the OSM map was gratifying. Participants who thought digital maps should be available for free also reported that OSM participation built their data literacy skills and that they found seeing their contribution appear on the OSM map gratifying.

Q11. OSM has enabled me to build my data literacy skills.

Q11 perfectly correlates to: (a) Seeing my contribution appear on the OSM map was gratifying. Participants who thought OSM enabled them to build data literacy skills were gratified by seeing their OSM contribution appear on the map.

Q15. Using a GIS application to enter map data was enjoyable.

Q15 perfectly correlates to: (a) I would contribute to future OSM events to create maps that support my research interests; (b) I appreciate the freedom to select areas to map; (c) Those who need access to free maps will use my OSM contributions; and (d) It is important to help others by providing maps that are freely available. Participants who enjoyed using the GIS application to enter map data also appreciated the freedom to select areas to map, believed that those who needed access to free maps would use their OSM contribution, thought it important to provide freely available maps, and would contribute to future mapping activities.

Q19. I appreciated the freedom to select areas to map.

Q19 perfectly correlates to: (a) Those who need access to free maps will use my OSM contributions; and (b) It is important to help others by providing maps that are freely available. Participants who appreciated the freedom to choose areas to map also thought that people in need would utilize their OSM contributions and believed in helping oth-ers by providing free maps.

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Q20. Those who need access to free maps will use my OSM contributions.

Q20 perfectly correlates to: (a) It is important to help others by providing maps that are freely available. Participants who believed that persons in need would utilize their OSM contribution also were convinced of the importance of providing free maps.

Q22. I will use my OSM profile to display my data literacy skills to potential employers.

Q22 perfectly correlates to: (a) My OSM experience will add value to my resume. Par-ticipants who felt confident showcasing their OSM profile to potential employers also believed the OSM experience added value to their résumé.

Notes

1. Tim O’Reilly, “What Is Web 2.0,” 2019, https://www.oreilly.com/pub/a/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html.

2. Denis Wood, The Power of Maps (New York: Guilford, 1992); John E. Estes and D. Wayne Mooneyhan, “Of Maps and Myths,” Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing 60, 5 (1994): 517–24.

3. Robert Soden and Leysia Palen, “From Crowdsourced Mapping to Community Mapping: The Post-Earthquake Work of OpenStreetMap Haiti,” in Chiara Rossitto, Luigina Ciolfi, David Martin, and Bernard Conein, eds., Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on the Design of Cooperative Systems, 311–26 (Cham, Switz.: Springer, 2014); Leysia Palen, Robert Soden, T. Jennings Anderson, and Mario Barrenechea. “Success & Scale in a Data-Producing Organization: The Socio-Technical Evolution of OpenStreetMap in Response to Humanitarian Events,” in Proceedings of the 33rd Annual ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 4113–22 (New York: ACM, 2015).

4. Co-Intelligence Institute, “Principles of Public Participation,” 2008, https://www.co-intelligence.org/CIPol_publicparticipation.html; Theresa Marguerite Quill, “Humanitarian Mapping as Library Outreach: A Case for Community-Oriented Mapathons, Journal of Web Librarianship 12, 3 (2018): 160–68.

5. Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, “What We Do,” https://www.hotosm.org/. 6. Ibid. 7. Quill, “Humanitarian Mapping as Library Outreach”; Bethany S. McGowan, “Proactive

Planning: Using GIS Data and Mapping Parties to Expedite Disaster Relief Response to Vulnerable Places,” paper presented at IFLA WLIC (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions World Information Congress), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, August 2018”; Alice Yin, “A Mapathon to Pinpoint Areas Hardest Hit in Puerto Rico,” New York Times, October 2, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/02/nyregion/maps-puerto-rico-hurricane-maria.html.

8. Minsung Kim and Robert Bednarz, “Development of Critical Spatial Thinking through GIS [geographic information system] Learning,” Journal of Geography in Higher Education 37, 3 (2013): 350–66.

9. Nama R. Budhathoki, “Participants’ Motivations to Contribute Geographic Information in an Online Community,” PhD diss., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2010, http://hdl.handle.net/2142/16956.This

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Measuring Student Motivation for Participation in GIS Data ... › portal › sites › ajm › files › mcgowan.pdfIntroduction Humanitarian mapping is an effort in which volunteers