Article type
Year
Abstract
On behalf of the Project Transform team
Background: Within Cochrane, we struggle to provide contributors with meaningful ways to get involved that suits both the organization and the contributor. Additionally, at a time when research output is expanding exponentially, citizen science, the process of engaging willing volunteers in scientific research activities, has an important role to play in helping to mange the information overload.
Objectives: Cochrane Crowd, a part of Cochrane’s Project Transform, is helping to solve these problems by offering contributors micro-tasks aimed at identifying and describing trials.
Methods: Building on the work of Cochrane’s Embase project, whereby over 2000 contributors helped to identify over 20,000 reports of randomized trials from Embase with excellent accuracy, we have developed a new micro-tasking platform called Cochrane Crowd: http://crowd.cochrane.org. The platform enables contributors to dive into needed tasks that help us capture and describe the evidence.
Results: Cochrane Crowd was launched in February 2016. Initially opened to early adopters, in April 2016 it was opened up to anyone keen to contribute. Contributors can work offline, work on records in areas of interest to them, monitor their own performance and unlock new tasks as they progress.
We will present data on the following:
1. Platform usage;
2. Experience of new contributors;
3. Crowd performance
a. Quantity of tasks completed
b. Accuracy of tasks completed
Conclusions: This model of contribution is becoming an established part of Cochrane’s effort to manage the deluge of information being produced in a way that offers willing contributors a way to get involved, learn, and play a crucial role in evidence curation.
Background: Within Cochrane, we struggle to provide contributors with meaningful ways to get involved that suits both the organization and the contributor. Additionally, at a time when research output is expanding exponentially, citizen science, the process of engaging willing volunteers in scientific research activities, has an important role to play in helping to mange the information overload.
Objectives: Cochrane Crowd, a part of Cochrane’s Project Transform, is helping to solve these problems by offering contributors micro-tasks aimed at identifying and describing trials.
Methods: Building on the work of Cochrane’s Embase project, whereby over 2000 contributors helped to identify over 20,000 reports of randomized trials from Embase with excellent accuracy, we have developed a new micro-tasking platform called Cochrane Crowd: http://crowd.cochrane.org. The platform enables contributors to dive into needed tasks that help us capture and describe the evidence.
Results: Cochrane Crowd was launched in February 2016. Initially opened to early adopters, in April 2016 it was opened up to anyone keen to contribute. Contributors can work offline, work on records in areas of interest to them, monitor their own performance and unlock new tasks as they progress.
We will present data on the following:
1. Platform usage;
2. Experience of new contributors;
3. Crowd performance
a. Quantity of tasks completed
b. Accuracy of tasks completed
Conclusions: This model of contribution is becoming an established part of Cochrane’s effort to manage the deluge of information being produced in a way that offers willing contributors a way to get involved, learn, and play a crucial role in evidence curation.