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A Chimera of VGI, Citizen Science and Mobile Devices

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Mobile Information Systems Leveraging Volunteered Geographic Information for Earth Observation

Part of the book series: Earth Systems Data and Models ((ESDM,volume 4))

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Abstract

Volunteered geographic information (VGI) eloquently sums a wide variety of activities that generate geospatial content. While this content has taken many forms this chapter focuses on data sets that are used in the context of geographical citizen science projects. Citizen science covers a wide range of activities which in essence empowers communities to act on available or newly gathered data. However, there are issues of concern when it comes to the volunteers’ capacity to support a sustainable flow of appropriate data. In this context, this chapter immerses into one of the major factors that play a crucial role in the development of geographical citizen science: data quality. We first discuss the characteristics of VGI and then use this experience on citizen science project that has as a basic component the collection of geographic information. We present the quality challenges that such projects can face, and we discuss in a step-by-step mode best practices that can enhance data quality.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hellenic Army General Staff, Geographic Directorate, Military Camp Papagou, Mesogeion 227-231, 15561, Holargos, Greece

    Vyron Antoniou

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  1. Vyron Antoniou
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Correspondence to Vyron Antoniou .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. IREA CNR , Milano, Italy

    Gloria Bordogna

  2. IREA CNR , Milano, Italy

    Paola Carrara

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Antoniou, V. (2018). A Chimera of VGI, Citizen Science and Mobile Devices. In: Bordogna, G., Carrara, P. (eds) Mobile Information Systems Leveraging Volunteered Geographic Information for Earth Observation. Earth Systems Data and Models, vol 4. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70878-2_7

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