@article {zevin2023gravity, title = {Gravity Spy: Lessons Learned and a Path Forward}, journal = {European Physical Journal Plus}, volume = {139}, year = {2024}, month = {01/2024}, pages = {Article 100}, abstract = {

The Gravity Spy project aims to uncover the origins of glitches, transient bursts of noise that hamper analysis of gravitational-wave data. By using both the work of citizen-science volunteers and machine-learning algorithms, the Gravity Spy project enables reliable classification of glitches. Citizen science and machine learning are intrinsically coupled within the Gravity Spy framework, with machine-learning classifications providing a rapid first-pass classification of the dataset and enabling tiered volunteer training, and volunteer-based classifications verifying the machine classifications, bolstering the machine-learning training set and identifying new morphological classes of glitches. These classifications are now routinely used in studies characterizing the performance of the LIGO gravitational-wave detectors. Providing the volunteers with a training framework that teaches them to classify a wide range of glitches, as well as additional tools to aid their investigations of interesting glitches, empowers them to make discoveries of new classes of glitches. This demonstrates that, when giving suitable support, volunteers can go beyond simple classification tasks to identify new features in data at a level comparable to domain experts. The Gravity Spy project is now providing volunteers with more complicated data that includes auxiliary monitors of the detector to identify the root cause of glitches.

}, doi = {10.1140/epjp/s13360-023-04795-4}, author = {Michael Zevin and Corey B. Jackson and Zoheyr Doctor and Yunan Wu and Carsten {\O}sterlund and L. Clifton Johnson and Christopher P. L. Berry and Kevin Crowston and Scott B. Coughlin and Vicky Kalogera and Sharan Banagiri and Derek Davis and Jane Glanzer and Renzhi Hao and Aggelos K. Katsaggelos and Oli Patane and Jennifer Sanchez and Joshua Smith and Siddharth Soni and Laura Trouille and Marissa Walker and Irina Aerith and Wilfried Domainko and Victor-Georges Baranowski and Gerhard Niklasch and Barbara T{\'e}gl{\'a}s} } @proceedings {wang2024reelframer, title = {ReelFramer: Human-AI Co-Creation for News-to-Video Translation}, year = {2024}, address = {Honolulu, Hawai{\textquoteright}i}, abstract = {

Short videos on social media are the dominant way young people consume content. News outlets aim to reach audiences through news reels -- short videos conveying news -- but struggle to translate traditional journalistic formats into short, entertaining videos. To translate news into social media reels, we support journalists in reframing the narrative. In literature, narrative framing is a high-level structure that shapes the overall presentation of a story. We identified three narrative framings for reels that adapt social media norms but preserve news value, each with a different balance of information and entertainment. We introduce ReelFramer, a human-AI co-creative system that helps journalists translate print articles into scripts and storyboards. ReelFramer supports exploring multiple narrative framings to find one appropriate to the story. AI suggests foundational narrative details, including characters, plot, setting, and key information. ReelFramer also supports visual framing; AI suggests character and visual detail designs before generating a full storyboard. Our studies show that narrative framing introduces the necessary diversity to translate various articles into reels, and establishing foundational details helps generate scripts that are more relevant and coherent. We also discuss the benefits of using narrative framing and foundational details in content retargeting.

}, url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09653}, author = {Sitong Wang and Samia Menon and Tao Long and Keren Henderson and Dingzeyu Li and Kevin Crowston and Mark Hansen and Jeffrey V. Nickerson and Lydia B. Chilton} } @article {wang2023reelframer, title = {Video for ReelFramer: Co-creating News Reels on Social Media with Generative AI}, year = {2023}, type = {Video}, url = {https://youtu.be/WQZcbdp5yJQ}, author = {Sitong Wang and Samia Menon and Tao Long and Keren Henderson and Dingzeyu Li and Kevin Crowston and Mark Hansen and Jeffrey V. Nickerson and Lydia B. Chilton} } @article {9998, title = {Examining Open Innovation in Science (OIS): What Open Innovation can and cannot offer the science of science}, journal = {Innovation: Organization \& Management}, year = {2021}, abstract = {

Scholars across disciplines increasingly hear calls for more open and collaborative approaches to scientific research. The concept of Open Innovation in Science (OIS) provides a framework that integrates dispersed research efforts aiming to understand the antecedents, contingencies, and consequences of applying open and collaborative research practices. While the OIS framework has already been taken up by science of science scholars, its conceptual underpinnings require further specification. In this essay, we critically examine the OIS concept and bring to light two key aspects: 1) how OIS builds upon Open Innovation (OI) research by adopting its attention to boundary-crossing knowledge flows and by adapting other concepts developed and researched in OI to the science context as exemplified by two OIS cases in the area of research funding; 2) how OIS conceptualises knowledge flows across boundaries. While OI typically focuses on well-defined organizational boundaries, we argue that blurry and even invisible boundaries between communities of practice may more strongly constrain flows of knowledge related to openness and collaboration in science. Given the uptake of this concept, this essay brings needed clarity to the meaning of OIS, which has no particular normative orientation toward a close coupling between science and industry. We end by outlining the essay{\textquoteright}s contributions to OI and the science of science, as well as to science practitioners.

}, doi = {10.1080/14479338.2021.1999248}, author = {Susanne Beck and Marcel LaFlamme and Carsten Bergenholtz and Marcel Bogers and Tiare-Maria Brasseur and Marie-Louise Conradsen and Kevin Crowston and Diletta Di Marco and Agnes Effert and Despoina Filiou and Lars Frederiksen and Thomas Gillier and Marc Gruber and Carolin Haeussler and Karin Hoisl and Olga Kokshagina and Maria-Theresa Norn and Marion Poetz and Gernot Pruschak and Laia Pujol Priego and Agnieszka Radziwon and Alexander Ruser and Henry Sauermann and Sonali Shah and Julia Suess-Reyes and Christopher L. Tucci and Philipp Tuertscher and Jane Bj{\o}rn Vedel and Roberto Verganti and Jonathan Wareham and Sunny Mosangzi Xu} } @article {9999, title = {Participation in Community-Based Free/Libre Open Source Software Development Tasks: The Impact of Task Characteristics}, journal = {Internet Research}, volume = {31}, year = {2021}, pages = {1177-1202}, abstract = {

Prior research on participation in FLOSS development has focused mainly on factors at the individual and/or project levels. In this research, we focus on task characteristics and explore their impacts on participation in FLOSS development tasks. Analyzing tasks from five projects in two categories, we find differences in participation related to different task triggers and task topics. Further, our results suggest the mediating role of number of participants in the relationship between task characteristics and the number of messages and the moderating role of project type in the relationships between task characteristics and the number of participants.

}, doi = {10.1108/INTR-03-2020-0112}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/IR\%20to\%20share.pdf}, author = {Kangning Wei and Eseryel, U. Yeliz and Kevin Crowston} } @article {9999, title = {Decision-Making Processes in Community-based Free/Libre Open Source Software Development Teams with Internal Governance: An Extension to Decision-Making Theory}, journal = {Communications of the Association for Information Systems}, year = {2020}, abstract = {

FLOSS teams are an extreme example of distributed teams, prominent in software development. At the core of distributed team success is team decision-making and execution. The lack formal organizational structures to guide practices and the reliance on asynchronous communication might be expected to make decision making problematic. While there is a paucity of research in how organizations make IS development decisions, the research in FLOSS decision making models is limited. Decision-making literature in FLOSS teams is limited to the investigation of the distribution of decision-making power. Therefore, it is not clear which decision-making theories fit FLOSS context best, or whether novel decision-making models are required. Despite these challenges many FLOSS teams are effective. We adopted a process-based perspective to analyze decision-making in five community-based FLOSS teams. We identified five different decision-making processes, indicating FLOSS teams use multiple processes when making decisions. Decision-making behaviors were stable across projects despite different type of knowledge required. We help fill in the literature gap due to the lack of investigations the extent to which FLOSS decision mechanisms can be explained using classical decision-making theories. Practically, community and company leaders should use these decision processes to infrastructure that fits best with the FLOSS decision-making processes.

}, doi = {10.17705/1CAIS.04620}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/CAIS\%20Journal\%202nd\%20Round\%20Resubmission.pdf}, author = {Eseryel, U. Yeliz and Kangning Wei and Kevin Crowston} } @article {9999, title = {Attitudes and norms affecting scientists{\textquoteright} data reuse}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, volume = {12}, year = {2017}, chapter = {e0189288}, abstract = {The value of sharing data comes partly from the data{\textquoteright}s being reused by other scientists, but questions regarding attitudes and norms that predict scientists{\textquoteright} data reuse remain open. We test the relationship between scientists{\textquoteright} beliefs and attitudes towards data reuse and their self-reported data reuse behaviour using responses to selected questions from a worldwide survey developed and administered by the DataONE Usability and Assessment Working Group. The data suggest first that data sharing and data reuse are largely separate phenomena. Second, the perceived efficacy of data reuse for answering research questions was found to be one of the strongest predictors of reuse behaviour. On the other hand, expressed lack of trust in reused data and perceived norms against data reuse did not seem to deter respondents from reuse. Finally, reported use of models and remote-sensed data was associated with more reuse. The results suggest that data reuse would be encouraged by demonstrations of the value and addressing norms about this practice. }, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0189288}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/PONE\%20to\%20share.pdf}, author = {Renata G. Curty and Kevin Crowston and Alison Specht and Bruce Grant and Elizabeth D. Walton} } @article {9999, title = {Gamers, citizen scientists, and data: Exploring participant contributions in two games with a purpose}, journal = {Computers in Human Behavior}, volume = {68}, year = {2017}, pages = {254{\textendash}268}, abstract = {

Two key problems for crowd-sourcing systems are motivating contributions from participants and ensuring the quality of these contributions. Games have been suggested as a motivational approach to encourage contribution, but attracting participation through game play rather than intrinsic interest raises concerns about the quality of the contributions provided. These concerns are particularly important in the context of citizen science projects, when the contributions are data to be used for scientific research. To assess the validity of concerns about the effects of gaming on data quality, we compare the quality of data obtained from two citizen science games, one a {\textquotedblleft}gamified{\textquotedblright} version of a species classification task and one a fantasy game that used the classification task only as a way to advance in the game play. Surprisingly, though we did observe cheating in the fantasy game, data quality (i.e., classification accuracy) from participants in the two games was not significantly different. As well, data from short-time contributors was also at a usable level of accuracy. Finally, learning did not seem to affect data quality in our context. These findings suggest that various approaches to gamification can be useful for motivating contributions to citizen science projects.

}, doi = {10.1016/j.chb.2016.11.035}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/chb2016.pdf}, author = {Nathan Prestopnik and Kevin Crowston and Wang, Jun} } @article {9999, title = {Roles and politeness behavior in community-based Free/Libre Open Source Software development}, journal = {Information and Management}, volume = {54}, year = {2017}, pages = {573-582}, abstract = {Community-based Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) development relies on contributions from both core and peripheral members. Prior research on core-periphery has focused on software coding-related behaviors. We study how core-periphery roles are related to social-relational behavior in terms of politeness behavior. Data from two FLOSS projects suggest that both core and peripheral members use more positive politeness strategies than negative strategies. Further, core and peripheral members use different strategies to protect positive face in positive politeness, which we term respect and intimacy respectively. Our results contribute to FLOSS research and politeness theory. }, keywords = {Core-periphery structure, Open source software development, Politeness behavior}, doi = {10.1016/j.im.2016.11.006}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/Group_maintenance\%20paper\%20to\%20share.pdf}, author = {Kangning Wei and Kevin Crowston and Eseryel, U. Yeliz and Heckman, Robert} } @proceedings {9998, title = {Inter-team coordination in large-scale agile development: A test of organizational discontinuity theory}, year = {2016}, month = {5/2016}, abstract = {We draw on Organizational Discontinuity Theory (ODT) to identify factors that increase communication and coordination problems between teams working on large software development projects. ODT posits that faced with a disruption in the expected flow of communication, called a discontinuity, individuals must make sense of the disruption to address the problem. They may be motivated to pay more attention to the situation and consider alternative actions to deal with the discontinuity, leading to the emergence of continuities, which are new behaviors, group practices and expectations. Continuities reduce or eliminate the attention and effort required to understand and manage the situation associated with problematic discontinuities. We propose a mixed-method study based on this model to examine the effects of discontinuities and the development of continuities on inter-team coordination in large-scale agile software development. }, doi = {10.1145/2962695.2962697}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/160225\%20XP\%20abstract\%20final\%20v2_1.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston and Chudoba, Katherine M. and Mary Beth Watson-Manheim and Pouya Rahmati} } @article {9999, title = {Perceived Discontinuities and Continuities in Transdisciplinary Scientific Working Groups}, journal = {Science of the Total Environment}, volume = {534}, year = {2015}, pages = {159-172 }, doi = {10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.04.121}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/D1\%20Discontinuities\%20to\%20distribute.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston and Alison Specht and Carol Hoover and Chudoba, Katherine M. and Mary Beth Watson-Manheim} } @article {9999, title = {Social Networks and the Success of Market Intermediaries: Evidence from the US Residential Real Estate Industry}, journal = {The Information Society}, volume = {31}, year = {2015}, month = {9/2015}, pages = {361-378}, abstract = {We examine the roles of market intermediaries in brokering connections among otherwise disconnected social networks. Market intermediaries are usually thought of as simply bringing together buyers and sellers with whom they have weak ties. However, intermediaries may also connect principals with other professionals who can provide assistance with the transaction. Because they are involved in repeated transactions, market intermediaries generally have strong ties with such professionals. We address the question of which set of relations{\textemdash}weak ties to buyers and sellers or strong ties to other professionals{\textemdash}are more important to the success of market intermediaries, using data from the US residential real estate industry{\textemdash}a setting in which transactions are complex and market intermediaries are common. From a national survey of 525 realtors, we find that strong tie relations are more important than weak ties as predictor of the market intermediary{\textquoteright}s income, counter to the general wisdom about real estate in particular and market intermediaries more generally. This finding suggests that market intermediaries may become more successful by developing strong relations with other related professionals. The strong-tie arrangements among professional market intermediaries may behave like {\textquoteleft}quasi-firms{\textquoteright} that help buyers and sellers navigate complex market transactions. }, doi = {10.1080/01972243.2015.1041665}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/The\%20Role\%20of\%20Market\%20Intermediaries\%20final\%20to\%20distribute.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston and Sawyer, Steve and Rolf Wigand} } @article {2015, title = {Surveying the citizen science landscape}, journal = {First Monday}, volume = {26}, number = {1}, year = {2015}, month = {1/2015}, type = {Journal Article}, abstract = {

Citizen science has seen enormous growth in recent years, in part due to the influence of the Internet, and a corresponding growth in interest. However, the few stand-out examples that have received attention from media and researchers are not representative of the diversity of the field as a whole, and therefore may not be the best models for those seeking to study or start a citizen science project. In this work, we present the results of a survey of citizen science project leaders, identifying sub-groups of project types according to a variety of features related to project design and management, including funding sources, goals, participant activities, data quality processes, and social interaction. These combined features highlight the diversity of citizen science, providing an overview of the breadth of the phenomenon and laying a foundation for comparison between citizen science projects and to other online communities.

}, doi = {10.5210/fm.v20i1.5520}, url = {https://journals.uic.edu/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/5520}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/Surveying\%20the\%20citizen\%20science\%20landscape.pdf}, author = {Wiggins, Andrea and Kevin Crowston} } @article {9998, title = {Digital assemblages: Evidence and theorizing from the computerization of the U.S. residential real estate industry}, journal = {New Technology, Work and Employment}, volume = {29}, year = {2014}, month = {3/2014}, pages = {40-56}, abstract = {The contribution of this paper is to theorize on the roles information and communication technologies (ICT) play in reshaping work arrangements and specifically to advance the concept of a digital assemblage as a lens for this analysis. We pursue an alternative conceptualization of the role of ICT: computerization. The fundamental premise of computerization is that actors are embedded in transactions and that ICT are taken up and used to support this embedding rather than for purposes of strict economic rationality. This work draws on data from a study of the U.S. residential real estate industry, which serves here as a {\textquotedblleft}living laboratory{\textquotedblright} for studying information-intensive industries. }, doi = {10.1111/ntwe.12020}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/Real_estate_assemblages_ntwe_2014_to_share_sawyer_crowston_wigand.pdf}, author = {Sawyer, Steve and Kevin Crowston and Rolf Wigand} } @article {2014, title = {Editorial: The role of information systems in enabling open innovation}, journal = {Journal of the Association for Information Systems }, volume = {15}, year = {2014}, month = {11/2014}, chapter = {Article 4}, doi = {10.17705/1jais.00381}, url = {http://aisel.aisnet.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1692\&context=jais}, author = {Eoin Whelan and Kieran Conboy and Kevin Crowston and Lorraine Morgan and Matti Rossi} } @proceedings {9999, title = {Exploring data quality in games with a purpose}, year = {2014}, month = {3/2014}, address = {Berlin, Germany}, abstract = {

A key problem for crowd-sourcing systems is motivating contributions from participants and ensuring the quality of these contributions. Games have been suggested as a motivational approach to encourage contribution, but attracting participation through game play rather than scientific interest raises concerns about the quality of the data provided, which is particularly important when the data are to be used for scientific research. To assess whether these concerns are justified, we compare the quality of data obtained from two citizen science games, one a {\textquotedblleft}gamified{\textquotedblright} version of a species classification task and one a fantasy game that used the classification task only as a way to advance in the game play. Surprisingly, though we did observe cheating in the fantasy game, data quality (i.e., classification accuracy) from participants in the two games was not significantly different. As well, the quality of data from short-time contributors was at a usable level of accuracy. These findings suggest that various approaches to gamification can be useful for motivating contributions to citizen science projects.

}, doi = {10.9776/14066}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/gamedataquality_cameraready_4.pdf}, author = {Nathan Prestopnik and Kevin Crowston and Wang, Jun} } @article {9998, title = {Group maintenance in technology-supported distributed teams}, journal = {Information \& Management}, volume = {51}, year = {2014}, month = {4/2014}, pages = {297-309}, abstract = {In this paper we investigate group maintenance behavior in community-based Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) development teams. Adopting a sociolinguistic perspective, we conceptualize group maintenance behavior as interpersonal communication tactics{\textemdash}specifically, social presence and politeness tactics{\textemdash}that help maintain relationships among group members. Developer email messages were collected from two FLOSS projects with different development status and content-analyzed to identify frequently-used group maintenance tactics. We then compared the two projects on the group maintenance tactics used, finding differences that reflect changes in the project work practices. Our work contributes theoretically to FLOSS research and has practical implications for FLOSS practitioners. }, doi = {10.1016/j.im.2014.02.001}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/Group_maintenance\%20paper_part\%20I_20140122_final.pdf}, author = {Kangning Wei and Kevin Crowston and Li, Na and Heckman, Robert} } @article {Crowston:2009, title = {Free/Libre Open Source Software Development: What we know and what we do not know}, journal = {ACM Computing Surveys}, volume = {44}, year = {2012}, month = {02/2012}, edition = {2}, abstract = {We review the empirical research on Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) development and assess the state of the literature. We develop a framework for organizing the literature based on the input-mediator-output- input (IMOI) model from the small groups literature. We present a quantitative summary of articles selected for the review and then discuss findings of this literature categorized into issues pertaining to inputs (e.g., member characteristics, technology use and project characteristics), processes (software development and social processes), emergent states (e.g., trust and task related states) and outputs (e.g. team performance, FLOSS implementation and project evolution). Based on this review, we suggest topics for future research, as well as identifying methodological and theoretical issues for future inquiry in this area, including issues relating to sampling and the need for more longitudinal studies.}, doi = {10.1145/2089125.2089127}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/CrowstonFLOSSReviewPaperPreprint.pdf , https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/Appendix\%201\%20Journal\%20and\%20Conference\%20Names.pdf , https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/Appendix\%202\%20Coding\%20Scheme.pdf , https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/Appendix\%203\%20Studies\%20included\%20in\%20the\%20review.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston and Kangning Wei and James Howison and Wiggins, Andrea} } @article {2012, title = {The future of citizen science: emerging technologies and shifting paradigms}, journal = {Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment}, volume = {10}, year = {2012}, month = {08/2012}, pages = {298{\textendash}304}, abstract = {

Citizen science creates a nexus between science and education that, when coupled with emerging technologies, expands the frontiers of ecological research and public engagement. Using representative technologies and other examples, we examine the future of citizen science in terms of its research processes, program and participant cultures, and scientific communities. Future citizen-science projects will likely be influenced by sociocultural issues related to new technologies and will continue to face practical programmatic challenges. We foresee networked, open science and the use of online computer/video gaming as important tools to engage non-traditional audiences, and offer recommendations to help prepare project managers for impending challenges. A more formalized citizen-science enterprise, complete with networked organizations, associations, journals, and cyberinfrastructure, will advance scientific research, including ecology, and further public education.

}, issn = {1540-9295}, doi = {10.1890/110294}, url = {http://www.esajournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1890/110294}, author = {Newman, Greg and Wiggins, Andrea and Crall, Alycia and Graham, Eric and Newman, Sarah and Kevin Crowston} } @proceedings {2012, title = {Goals and tasks: Two typologies of citizen science projects}, year = {2012}, month = {1/2012}, address = {Wailea, HI}, abstract = {

Citizen science is a form of research collaboration involving members of the public in scientific research projects to address real-world problems. Often organized as a virtual collaboration, these projects are a type of open movement, with collective goals addressed through open participation in research tasks. We conducted a survey of citizen science projects to elicit multiple aspects of project design and operation. We then clustered projects based on the tasks performed by participants and on the project{\textquoteright}s stated goals. The clustering results group projects that show similarities along other dimensions, suggesting useful divisions of the projects.

}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/hicss-45-final.pdf}, author = {Wiggins, Andrea and Kevin Crowston} } @conference {Watson-Manheim:2012, title = {Innovation in academic-industry partnerships: Measuring the challenges to effective performance}, booktitle = {Academy of Management Conference, Technology and Innovation Management Division}, year = {2012}, month = {8/2012}, address = {Boston, MA}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/17445.pdf}, author = {Mary Beth Watson-Manheim and Chudoba, Katherine M. and Kevin Crowston} } @article {9998, title = {Perceived discontinuities and constructed continuities in virtual work}, journal = {Information Systems Journal}, volume = {22}, year = {2012}, month = {01/2012}, pages = {29-52}, doi = {10.1111/j.1365-2575.2011.00371.x}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/ISJ\%20to\%20distribute_0.pdf}, author = {Mary Beth Watson-Manheim and Chudoba, Katherine M. and Kevin Crowston} } @article {9999, title = {Describing public participation in scientific research}, year = {2011}, publisher = {Syracuse University School of Information Studies}, abstract = {We report the results of a descriptive survey of citizen science projects, a form of scientific collaboration engaging members of the public with professional researchers. This phenomenon has seen explosive growth in recent years and is garnering interest from a broadening variety of research domains. However, the lack of adequate description of this diverse population hinders useful research. To address this gap, we conducted a survey of citizen science projects. We present a description of the phenomenon to establish a basis for sampling and evaluation of research on citizen science, including details on project resources, participation, technologies, goals, and outcomes. We then reflect on several points of potential development, including technologies to support participation, potential for expanding engagement, and data policies. The diverse organizational and functional arrangements in citizen science projects suggest a variety of areas for future research.}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/iConference2012.pdf}, author = {Wiggins, Andrea and Kevin Crowston} } @article {2011, title = {Design for Citizen Science Workshop Report}, year = {2011}, month = {12/2011}, institution = {Syracuse University School of Information Studies}, type = {Workshop Report}, address = {Syracuse, NY}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/CitizenScienceFinalWorkshopReport.pdf}, author = {Wiggins, Andrea} } @conference {2011, title = {From Conservation to Crowdsourcing: A Typology of Citizen Science}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the Forty-fourth Hawai{\textquoteright}i International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS-44)}, year = {2011}, month = {1/2011}, address = {Koloa, HI}, abstract = {

Citizen science is a form of research collaboration involving members of the public in scientific research projects to address real-world problems. Often organized as a virtual collaboration, these projects are a type of open movement, with collective goals addressed through open participation in research tasks. Existing typologies of citizen science projects focus primarily on the structure of participation, paying little attention to the organizational and macrostructural properties that are important to designing and managing effective projects and technologies. By examining a variety of project characteristics, we identified five types{\textemdash}Action, Conservation, Investigation, Virtual, and Education{\textemdash}that differ in primary project goals and the importance of physical environment to participation.

}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/hicss-44.pdf}, author = {Wiggins, Andrea and Kevin Crowston} } @conference {2011, title = {Mechanisms for Data Quality and Validation in Citizen Science}, booktitle = {"Computing for Citizen Science" workshop at the IEEE eScience Conference}, year = {2011}, month = {12/2011}, address = {Stockholm, Sweden}, abstract = {Data quality is a primary concern for researchers employing public participation in scientific research, or {\textquotedblleft}citizen science,{\textquotedblright} to accomplish data collection and analysis tasks. This mode of scientific collaboration relies on contributions from a large, often unknown population of volunteers with widely variable expertise. In this paper, we review the commonly employed mechanisms for ensuring data quality. We also discuss results of a survey of citizen science projects that reports on the use of some of these mechanisms, noting that it is most common for projects to employ multiple mechanisms to ensure data quality and appropriate levels of validation.}, keywords = {Citizen Science, data quality, data validation}, url = {http://itee.uq.edu.au/~eresearch/workshops/compcitsci2011/index.html}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/PID2090593.pdf}, author = {Wiggins, Andrea and Newman, Greg and Stevenson, Robert D. and Kevin Crowston} } @article {9998, title = {Participation in ICT-Enabled Meetings}, journal = {Journal of Organizational and End User Computing}, volume = {23}, year = {2011}, chapter = {15{\textendash}36}, abstract = {Meetings are a common occurrence in contemporary organizations, and almost everyone shares an understanding of what a meeting is and what participation in a meeting looks like. Yet our exploratory study at Intel, an innovative global technology company, suggests that meetings are evolving beyond this familiar perspective as the pervasive use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) changes work practices associated with meetings. Drawing on data gathered from interviews prompted by entries in the employees{\textquoteright} electronic calendar system, we examine the multiple ways in which meetings build and reflect work in the organization and derive propositions to guide future research. Specifically, we identified four aspects of meetings that reflect work in the 21st century: meetings are integral to work in team-centered organizations, tension between group and personal objectives, discontinuities, and ICT support for fragmented work environment.}, keywords = {Computer-Mediated Communication, Information Technology}, doi = {10.4018/joeuc.2011040102}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/JOEUC_to_distribute.pdf}, author = {Chudoba, Katherine M. and Mary Beth Watson-Manheim and Kevin Crowston and Lee, Chei Sian} } @article {9999, title = {Validity issues in the use of social network analysis with digital trace data}, journal = {Journal of the Association for Information Systems}, volume = {12}, year = {2011}, month = {12/2011}, chapter = {Article 2}, abstract = {

There is an exciting natural match between social network analysis methods and the growth of data sources produced by social interactions via information technologies, from online communities to corporate information systems. Information Systems researchers have not been slow to embrace this combination of method and data. Such systems increasingly provide "digital trace data" that provide new research opportunities. Yet digital trace data are substantively different from the survey and interview data for which network analysis measures and interpretations were originally developed. This paper examines ten validity issues associated with the combination of data digital trace data and social network analysis methods, with examples from the IS literature, to provide recommendations for improving the validity of research using this combination.

}, doi = {10.17705/1jais.00282 }, url = {http://aisel.aisnet.org/jais/vol12/iss12/2/}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/JAIS.RA-JAIS-08-0130-ReferencesFixed.pdf}, author = {James Howison and Kevin Crowston and Wiggins, Andrea} } @proceedings {2010, title = {Analyzing Leadership Dynamics in Distributed Group Communication}, year = {2010}, address = {Kauai, HI, 5{\textendash}8 January}, abstract = {We apply social network analysis (SNA) to examine the dynamics of leadership in distributed groups, specifically Free/Libre Open Source Software development projects, and its relation to group performance. Based on prior work on leadership in distributed groups, we identify leaders with those who make the highest level of contribution to the group and assess the degree of leadership by measuring centralization of communications. We compare the dynamics of leadership in two FLOSS projects, one more and one less effective. We find that in both projects, centralization was higher in developer-oriented communications venues than in user-oriented venues, suggesting higher degrees of leadership in developer venues. However, we do not find a consistent relation between centralization and effectiveness. We suggest that SNA can instead be useful for identifying interesting periods in the history of the project, e.g., periods where the leadership of the project is in transition.}, keywords = {FLOSS, Leadership}, issn = {0361-1434 }, doi = {10.1109/HICSS.2010.62}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/07-06-02.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston and Wiggins, Andrea and James Howison} } @article {2010, title = {Developing a Conceptual Model of Virtual Organizations for Citizen Science}, journal = {International Journal of Organizational Design and Engineering}, volume = {1}, year = {2010}, month = {9/2010}, pages = {148-162}, type = {Research Note}, abstract = {

This paper develops an organization design-oriented conceptual model of scientific knowledge production through citizen science virtual organizations. Citizen science is a form of organization design for collaborative scientific research involving scientists and volunteers, for which Internet-based modes of participation enable massive virtual collaboration by thousands of members of the public. The conceptual model provides an example of a theory development process and discusses its application to an exploratory study. The paper contributes a multi-level process model for organizing investigation into the impact of design on this form of scientific knowledge production.

}, doi = {10.1504/IJODE.2010.035191}, url = {http://www.inderscience.com/filter.php?aid=35191}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/WigginsCrowstonIJODE2010.pdf}, author = {Wiggins, Andrea and Kevin Crowston} } @conference {2010, title = {Distributed Scientific Collaboration: Research Opportunities in Citizen Science}, booktitle = {The Changing Dynamics of Scientific Collaboration, CSCW 2010 workshop}, year = {2010}, month = {02/2010}, address = {Savannah, GA}, abstract = {This paper introduces a conceptual framework for research on citizen science, a form of collaboration involving scientists and volunteers in scientific research. Designing CSCW systems to support this type of scientific collaboration requires understanding the effects of organizational and work design on the scientific outcomes of citizen science projects. Initial directions for future research are identified, with the goal of developing a foundation for research on and development of cyberinfrastructure and collaborative technologies for supporting citizen science. }, url = {http://www.sci.utah.edu/cscw2010papers.html}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/WigginsCSCWworkshop_0.pdf}, author = {Wiggins, Andrea and Kevin Crowston} } @conference {Wei:2010, title = {The impact of national culture on knowledge sharing in global virtual collaboration}, booktitle = {Proceedings of International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS)}, year = {2010}, month = {12/2010}, address = {St. Louis, MO, USA}, keywords = {Knowledge Sharing, National Culture, Virtuality}, author = {Kangning Wei and Kevin Crowston} } @proceedings {Wiggins:2010, title = {Reclassifying Success and Tragedy in FLOSS Projects}, year = {2010}, note = {The attached zip file (OSS2010AnalysisScripts.zip) contains scripts for replicating the research. The data files for this analysis can be retrieved from: http://flossdb.syr.edu/classifier_summary_data.sql.gz (10 MB) http://flossdb.syr.edu/classifier_results.sql.gz (6 MB)}, month = {6/2010}, address = {Notre Dame, IN, USA}, abstract = {This paper presents the results of a replication of English \& Schweik{\textquoteright}s 2007 paper classifying FLOSS projects according to their stage of growth and indicators of success. We recreated the analysis using a comparable data set from 2006, with one additional point in time. We also expanded upon the original results by applying different criteria for evaluating the rate of new software releases for sustainability of project activity. We discuss the points of convergence and divergence from the original work from these extensions of the classification, and their implications for studying FLOSS development using archival data. The paper contributes new analysis of operationalizing success in FLOSS projects, with discussion of implications of the findings.}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/awigginsOSS2010Reclassifying.pdf , https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/OSS2010AnalysisScripts.zip}, author = {Wiggins, Andrea and Kevin Crowston} } @conference {2009, title = {Designing Virtual Organizations for Citizen Science}, booktitle = {IFIP Working Group 8.2 OASIS workshop 2009}, year = {2009}, month = {12/2009}, address = {Phoenix, AZ}, url = {http://sprouts.aisnet.org/9-56/}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/WigginsOASIS2009.pdf , https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/awigginsOASIS2009.ppt}, author = {Wiggins, Andrea and Kevin Crowston}, editor = {Uri Gal} } @proceedings {Scialdone:2009, title = {Group Maintenance Behaviours of Core and Peripheral Members of Free/Libre Open Source Software Teams}, year = {2009}, address = {Skövde, Sweden, 3-6 June}, abstract = {Group Maintenance is pro-social, discretionary, and relation-building behavior that occurs between members of groups in order to maintain reciprocal trust and cooperation. This paper considers how Free/libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) teams demonstrate such behaviors within the context of e-mail, as this is the primary medium through which such teams communicate. We compare group maintenance behaviors between both core and peripheral members of these groups, as well as behaviors between a group that remains producing software today and one which has since dissolved. Our findings indicate that negative politeness tactics (those which show respect for the autonomy of others) may be the most instrumental group maintenance behaviors that contribute to a FLOSS group{\textquoteleft}s ability to survive and continue software production. }, keywords = {FLOSS, Group Maintenance}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/34finalmjs.pdf}, author = {Scialdone, Michael J. and Heckman, Robert and Kevin Crowston}, editor = {Boldyreff, Cornelia and Kevin Crowston and Lundell, Bj{\"o}rn and Wasserman, Tony} } @proceedings {Wiggins:2009, title = {Heartbeat: Measuring Active User Base and Potential User Interest in FLOSS Projects}, volume = {299}, year = {2009}, pages = {94-104}, publisher = {Springer Boston}, address = {Skövde, Sweden, 3-6 June}, abstract = {This paper presents a novel method and algorithm to measure the size of an open source project{\textquoteright}s user base and the level of potential user interest that it generates. Previously unavailable download data at a daily resolution confirms hypothesized patterns related to release cycles. In short, regular users rapidly download the software after a new release giving a way to measure the active user base. In contrast, potential new users download the application independently of the release cycle, and the daily download figures tend to plateau at this rate when a release has not been made for some time. An algorithm for estimating these measures from download time series is demonstrated and the measures are examined over time in two open source projects.}, isbn = {978-3-642-02031-5}, issn = {978-3-642-02031-5}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-642-02032-2\%5f10}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/heartbeat.pdf}, author = {Wiggins, Andrea and James Howison and Kevin Crowston}, editor = {Boldyreff, Cornelia and Kevin Crowston and Lundell, Bj{\"o}rn and Wasserman, Tony} } @article {Li:2008a, title = {Asynchronous Decision-Making in Distributed Teams (Poster)}, year = {2008}, month = {8{\textendash}12 November}, address = {San Diego, CA}, keywords = {Decision-Making, FLOSS}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/CSCW2008Poster11x17Draft.pdf}, author = {Li, Qing and Heckman, Robert and Allen, Eileen E. and Kevin Crowston and Eseryel, U. Yeliz and James Howison and Wiggins, Andrea} } @proceedings {Howison:2008, title = {e{R}esearch workflows for studying free and open source software development}, year = {2008}, note = {Slides from the presentation at the Oxford eResearch Conference of lessons learned in replicating research in eResearch workflows.}, address = {Milan, Italy, 7-10 September}, abstract = {This paper proposes a demonstration of eResearch workflow tools as a model for the research community studying free and open source software and its development. For purposes of background and justification, the paper first introduces eResearch as increasingly practiced in fields such as astrophysics and biology, then contrasts the practice of research on free and open source software. After outlining the suitable public data sources the paper introduces a class of tools known as scientific workflow frameworks, specifically focusing on one---Taverna---and introducing its features. To further explain the tool a complete workflow used for original research on FLOSS is described and the agenda for the live demonstration is outlined. }, keywords = {eResearch, FLOSS, Workflow}, doi = {10.1007/978-0-387-09684-1_39}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/eResearchWorkflows.pdf}, author = {James Howison and Wiggins, Andrea and Kevin Crowston} } @proceedings {, title = {eSocialScience for Free/Libre Open Source Software researchers}, year = {2008}, address = {Manchester, UK, 18-20 June}, abstract = {This abstract presents a case study of the potential application of eScience tools and practices for the social science research community studying Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) development practices. We first describe the practice of research on FLOSS to motivate the need for eScience. After outlining suitable public data sources, we describe our initial efforts to introduce eScience tools for FLOSS research, potential obstacles and how the use of such tools might affect the practice of research in this field.}, keywords = {eScience, FLOSS}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/NCeSS2008CrowstonHowisonWiggins.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston and James Howison and Wiggins, Andrea} } @proceedings {Crowston:2008a, title = {Opportunities for eScience research on Free/Libre Open Source Software}, year = {2008}, address = {Oxford, England, 11-13 September}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/Opportunities\%20for\%20eScience\%20research\%20on\%20Free.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston and James Howison and Wiggins, Andrea} } @proceedings {Wiggins:2008, title = {Replication of FLOSS Research as eResearch}, year = {2008}, address = {Oxford, England, 11-13 September}, abstract = {We are working to introduce the ideas of eResearch to a multi-disciplinary research domain: those researchers examining Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) and its development (Howison, Wiggins, \& Crowston, 2008). The first phase of this work focused on building a repository for data on FLOSS teams, FLOSSmole (Howison, Conklin, \& Crowston, 2006), and collaborating with other nascent data repositories in the field. Recently we have begun a second phase, which is to introduce another established principle of eResearch, that of broader collaboration through shared workflows accessing these data repositories. To provide an example of the potential value of this principle, we are replicating seminal FLOSS papers using eResearch approaches. This paper describes research outcomes and lessons learned from translating published literature into eResearch workflows.}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/ReplicationOfFLOSSResearch.pdf}, author = {Wiggins, Andrea and James Howison and Kevin Crowston} } @proceedings {Wiggins:2008a, title = {Social dynamics of FLOSS team communication across channels}, year = {2008}, pages = {131-142}, publisher = {Springer Boston}, address = {Milan, Italy, 7-10 September}, abstract = {This paper extends prior investigation into the social dynamics of free and open source (FLOSS) teams by examining the methodological questions arising from research using social network analysis on open source projects. We evaluate the validity of data sampling by examining dynamics of communication centralization, which vary across multiple communication channels. We also introduce a method for intensity-based smoothing in dynamic social network analysis.}, keywords = {FLOSS}, isbn = {978-0-387-09683-4}, issn = {1571-5736 (Print) 1861-2288 (Online)}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/DSNAWigginsIFIP.pdf}, author = {Wiggins, Andrea and James Howison and Kevin Crowston} } @conference {Watson-Manheim:2007a, title = {Distance Matters, Except When It Doesn{\textquoteright}t: Discontinuities in Virtual Work}, booktitle = {Academy of Management Conference}, year = {2007}, address = {Philadelphia, PA}, abstract = {Virtual work has become an increasingly common phenomenon in today{\textquoteright}s organizations. Substantial and continuing changes in organizational processes and IT infrastructure have increased the pace and intensity of working across traditionally impermeable boundaries, enabling diverse forms of collaboration. However, our understanding of the consequences and implications of virtual work still lags and research results have been contradictory. We suggest that some of these inconsistencies have been because the boundaries that characterize virtual work-time, space, culture, organization, and so forth-are objective demarcations that are not uniformly problematic. It is only when those working in virtual settings perceive a boundary to be a discontinuity that it hinders work processes. We develop a model of virtual work that differentiates between boundaries and discontinuities, which helps account for contradictory findings. By examining the process of virtual work in more detail, we can uncover issues that are the underlying cause of problems, rather than deal with the more obvious symptoms that can mask underlying problem. Our model has implications both for research and for those working in virtual environments. }, keywords = {Discontinuity, Virtuality}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/13412.pdf}, author = {Mary Beth Watson-Manheim and Chudoba, Katherine M. and Kevin Crowston} } @article {2007, title = {Investigating the Dynamics of FLOSS Development Teams (Poster)}, year = {2007}, note = {SD 2007 poster - Full Adobe PDF 2007 HSD PI{\textquoteright}s conference poster reporting on the grant project work to date in a full Adobe PDF file. HSD 2007 poster - Small PDF HSD 2007 conference grant progress reporting poster in a smaller PDF file. }, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/HSDposter_8.ai_.pdf , https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/HSDposter_8.pdf}, author = {Li, Na and Li, Qing and Kangning Wei and Heckman, Robert and Eseryel, U. Yeliz and Liddy, Elizabeth D. and James Howison and Kevin Crowston and Allen, Eileen E. and Scialdone, Michael J. and Inoue, Keisuke and Harwell, Sarah and Rowe, Steven and McCracken, Nancy and Wiggins, Andrea} } @article {Crowston:2007b, title = {Self-organization of teams in free/libre open source software development}, journal = {Information and Software Technology Journal: Special issue on Understanding the Social Side of Software Engineering, Qualitative Software Engineering Research}, volume = {49}, year = {2007}, pages = {564{\textendash}575}, abstract = {This paper provides empirical evidence about how free/libre open source software development teams self-organize their work, specifically, how tasks are assigned to project team members. Following a case study methodology, we examined developer interaction data from three active and successful FLOSS projects using qualitative research methods, specifically inductive content analysis, to identify the task-assignment mechanisms used by the participants. We found that {\textquoteleft}self-assignment{\textquoteright} was the most common mechanism across three FLOSS projects. This mechanism is consistent with expectations for distributed and largely volunteer teams. We conclude by discussing whether these emergent practices can be usefully transferred to mainstream practice and indicating directions for future research.}, doi = {10.1016/j.infsof.2007.02.004}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/060918.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston and Kangning Wei and Li, Qing and Eseryel, U. Yeliz and James Howison} } @proceedings {Crowston:2006b, title = {Core and periphery in Free/Libre and Open Source software team communications}, year = {2006}, address = {Kaua{\textquoteright}i, Hawai{\textquoteright}i, January}, abstract = {The concept of the core group of developers is important and often discussed in empirical studies of FLOSS projects. This paper examines the question, {\textquotedblleft}how does one empirically distinguish the core?{\textquotedblright} Being able to identify the core members of a FLOSS development project is important because many of the processes necessary for successful projects likely involve core members differently than peripheral members, so analyses that mix the two groups will likely yield invalid results. We compare 3 analysis approaches to identify the core: the named list of developers, a Bradford{\textquoteright}s law analysis that takes as the core the most frequent contributors and a social network analysis of the interaction pattern that identifies the core in a core-and-periphery structure. We apply these measures to the interactions around bug fixing for 116 SourceForge projects. The 3 techniques identify different individuals as core members; examination of which individuals are identified leads to suggestions for refining the measures. All 3 measures though suggest that the core of FLOSS projects is a small fraction of the total number of contributors.}, keywords = {FLOSS}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/CoreAndPeripheryInFreeLibre.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston and Kangning Wei and Li, Qing and James Howison} } @proceedings {Heckman:2006b, title = {Emergent decision-making practices in technology-supported self-organizing distributed teams}, year = {2006}, address = {Milwaukee, WI, 10{\textendash}13 Dec}, abstract = {We seek to identify work practices that make technology-supported self-organizing distributed (or virtual) teams (TSSODT for short) effective in producing outputs satisfactory to their sponsors, meeting the needs of their members and continuing to function. A particularly important practice for team effectiveness is decision making: are the right decisions made at the right time to get the work done in a way that satisfies team sponsors, keeps contributors happy and engaged, and enables continued team success? In this research-in-progress paper, we report on an inductive qualitative analysis of 120 decision episodes taken by 2 Free/libre Open Source Software development teams. Our analysis revealed differences in decision-making practices that seem to be related to differences in overall team effectiveness.}, keywords = {Decision-Making, FLOSS}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/Emergent\%20Decision\%20Making\%20Practices\%20In\%20Technology\%20Supported\%20Self\%20O.pdf}, author = {Heckman, Robert and Kevin Crowston and Li, Qing and Allen, Eileen E. and Eseryel, U. Yeliz and James Howison and Kangning Wei} } @article {2006, title = {Investigating the Dynamics of FLOSS Development Teams (Poster)}, year = {2006}, note = {Poster describing the current state of the project for the HSD Principal Investigators{\textquoteright} conference, 14-15 September 2006, Washington DC.}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/hsd2006poster.pdf}, author = {Li, Qing and Kangning Wei and Heckman, Robert and Eseryel, U. Yeliz and Liddy, Elizabeth D. and James Howison and Kevin Crowston and Allen, Eileen E. and Inoue, Keisuke and Harwell, Sarah and Rowe, Steven and McCracken, Nancy} } @proceedings {Crowston:2005, title = {Coordination of Free/Libre Open Source Software development}, year = {2005}, address = {Las Vegas, NV, USA, December}, abstract = {The apparent success of free/libre open source software (FLOSS) development projects such as Linux, Apache, and many others has raised the question, what lessons from FLOSS development can be transferred to mainstream software development? In this paper, we use coordination theory to analyze coordination mechanisms in FLOSS development and compare our analysis with existing literature on coordination in proprietary software development. We examined developer interaction data from three active and successful FLOSS projects and used content analysis to identify the coordination mechanisms used by the participants. We found that there were similarities between the FLOSS groups and the reported practices of the proprietary project in the coordination mechanisms used to manage task-task dependencies. However, we found clear differences in the coordination mechanisms used to manage task-actor dependencies. While published descriptions of proprietary software development involved an elaborate system to locate the developer who owned the relevant piece of code, we found that {\textquotedblleft}self-assignment{\textquotedblright} was the most common mechanism across three FLOSS projects. This coordination mechanism is consistent with expectations for distributed and largely volunteer teams. We conclude by discussing whether these emergent practices can be usefully transferred to mainstream practice and indicating directions for future research.}, keywords = {Coordination, FLOSS}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/Coordination\%20of\%20Free\%20Libre\%20Open\%20Source\%20Software\%20Development.pdf , https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/CoordinationFreeLibreOSSDevSlides.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston and Kangning Wei and Li, Qing and Eseryel, U. Yeliz and James Howison} } @conference {Chudoba:2005a, title = {Meet Me in Cyberspace: Meetings in the Distributed Work Environment}, booktitle = {Academy of Management Conference, OCIS Division}, year = {2005}, address = {Honolulu, HI}, abstract = {Meetings have long been a critical activity in contemporary work life. At least since Mintzberg{\textquoteright}s classic study of managerial behavior, researchers have documented and practitioners have bemoaned the amount of time spent in meetings. Despite these problems, meetings are becoming even more common in organizations. Teams are now found throughout the organization, from the manufacturing floor to senior management. Organizational work increasingly occurs in teams, with participation in meetings becoming a core work activity. How are these meetings conducted? What are the implications of the increased use of ICT in these meetings? As more and more members of organizational teams are distributed and must make extensive use of ICT in order to work together, these questions become even more important. Using the device of genre system, an interrelated set of socially constructed communicative actions, we examine meetings from the perspective of employees at a company in the technology industry. We began with the questions: Are meetings in the 21st century different from Mintzberg{\textquoteright}s conceptualization? If so, how? Drawing on data gathered from interviews that used entries in the employees{\textquoteright} electronic calendar system, we found that employees are attending a large number of meetings (20\% reported more than 25 meetings in a week) and spending significant time in meetings (27\% reported more than 30 hours in a week in meetings). The majority of meetings included non-collocated participants and extensive use of ICT. We explore the implications of these and other findings for collaboration and ICT support.}, keywords = {Computer-Mediated Communication, Virtuality}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/academy2005calendar.pdf}, author = {Chudoba, Katherine M. and Mary Beth Watson-Manheim and Lee, Chei Sian and Kevin Crowston} } @article {Sawyer:2005, title = {Redefining access: Uses and roles of information and communication technologies in the US residential real estate industry from 1995 to 2005}, journal = {Journal of Information Technology}, volume = {20}, number = {4}, year = {2005}, pages = {213{\textendash}233}, abstract = {We discuss three industry-level changes in the US residential real estate industry due, in part, to the take up and uses of information and communication technologies (ICT): (1) changes in the processes of transacting residential real estate, (2) changing roles for information, and (3) changing nature of intermediation, with the real estate transaction as more complex than the seller{\textendash}agent{\textendash}buyer simplification would suggest. We speculate that these changes are currently indeterminate due to ongoing confusion among the impacts of first and second-level effects, the roles of ICT in redefining access to data, and the importance of localized, social structures of real estate markets. To develop these findings, we take an institutional perspective and draw on multiple data collection methods. This provides us a means to highlight the value of an institutional perspective for studying industrial-level change.}, keywords = {Computer-Mediated Communication, Real Estate}, doi = {10.1057/palgrave.jit.2000049}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/jit05.pdf}, author = {Sawyer, Steve and Rolf Wigand and Kevin Crowston} } @conference {Watson-Manheim:2004, title = {The paradox of discontinuities and continuities: Toward a more comprehensive view of virtuality}, booktitle = {Academy of Management Conference}, year = {2004}, address = {New Orleans, LA}, abstract = {Understanding the fundamental dynamics in virtual work environments is a challenge for organizational researchers. We propose that virtuality is, paradoxically, generally composed of factors that simultaneously simplify and complicate the work environment. We use the metaphorical construction of continuities and discontinuities to explore this phenomenon, and show that considering boundaries as creating discontinuities in work environments enhances our understanding in two ways. First, the language of discontinuities allows us to employ the device of paradox to explore the underlying dynamics of virtuality. This device makes it easier to examine the more complex reality of virtual work. Second, consideration of discontinuities draws attention to possible problems encountered in virtual work environments and ways that individuals and teams may compensate for the tension and differences implicit in discontinuities; in other words, paying attention to the seemingly logical antithesis of discontinuities, or continuities. By taking a process perspective, one can focus on the behavioral component of work, which in turn, has a subjective component. An example from a field study of a global virtual team is examined to illustrate the usefulness of the discontinuities/continuities framework.}, keywords = {Discontinuity, Virtuality}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/paradox2004.pdf}, author = {Mary Beth Watson-Manheim and Chudoba, Katherine M. and Kevin Crowston} } @article {Sawyer:2003, title = {The social embeddedness of transactions: Evidence from the residential real estate industry}, journal = {The Information Society}, volume = {19}, number = {2}, year = {2003}, pages = {135{\textendash}154}, abstract = {Information and communications technologies (ICT) are becoming pervasive in the residential real-estate industry and their usage is affecting the work lives of real-estate agents. Drawing on data from a regional study of the residential real-estate industry in the United States, we focus on the disintermediation or, more accurately, the reintermediation of real-estate agents in the sales process. Using data collected from interviews, direct observation, and archival records, we examine how real-estate agents are (1) taking advantage of new ICT in their work, and (2) protecting themselves from others wishing to displace their position in the real-estate value chain. Our analysis of this activity draws on two contrasting theoretical perspectives to illuminate the roles of residential real-estate agents: transaction cost and social capital. The results of this study provide insights into the ways in which ICT are used to build and draw on the social relationships that underpin the actual transactions, to help guide the process of buying/selling a house, and to invoke expertise as needed. }, keywords = {Computer-Mediated Communication, Coordination, Real Estate}, doi = {10.1080/01972240309460}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/tis2001final.pdf}, author = {Sawyer, Steve and Kevin Crowston and Rolf Wigand and Allbritton, Marcel} } @article {Watson-Manheim:2002a, title = {Discontinuities and continuities: A new way to understand virtual work}, journal = {Information, Technology \& People}, volume = {15}, number = {3}, year = {2002}, pages = {191{\textendash}209}, abstract = {"Virtual{\textquoteright}{\textquoteright} is a potent buzzword, freely applied to many situations, with many meanings. In this exploratory study, we develop a more precise understanding of "virtual{\textquoteright}{\textquoteright} to describe changing work environments. Specifically, we propose a framework to classify work environments based on the type of discontinuities involved. Discontinuities are gaps or a lack of coherence in aspects of work. The framework allows us to compare research across different topics and work settings. We use the framework to classify 75 published articles on virtual work environments or earlier, related research streams. We observed that many studies were simultaneously addressing existing or emerging continuities, factors or strategies for overcoming discontinuities. The focus of "virtual{\textquoteright}{\textquoteright} is on changes in the work environment; however, our analysis suggests the need to be equally aware of factors that have not changed and which may become more critical with the introduction of discontinuities.}, keywords = {Discontinuity, Virtuality}, doi = {10.1108/09593840210444746}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/itp2002.pdf}, author = {Mary Beth Watson-Manheim and Chudoba, Katherine M. and Kevin Crowston} } @conference {Chudoba:2002, title = {Discontinuities and Post-Bureaucratic Organizing: A Framework and Research Propositions}, booktitle = {Academy of Management Conference}, year = {2002}, address = {Denver, CO}, abstract = {Some organization theorists argue that prevailing theories of organizing are based primarily on detailed observations of bureaucratic work, but that the nature of work today is sufficiently different to bring the applicability of these theories into question. They note in particular the growth in white collar and service workers, the rise of “contingent work” and the increased application of computer technologies. While various kinds of non-bureaucratic work such as project-based work and non-traditional employees such as contractors is not new, the pace and intensity of work enabled by communications technologies suggest that a postbureaucratic theory of work may be appropriate. Indeed, “virtual” has become shorthand for novel work arrangements involving telecommuters or virtual organizations. We propose that an increasingly important characteristic of non-bureaucratic work settings is the fact that the workers in these environments face discontinuities, that is, a lack of coherence in aspects of their work, such as the work setting, task, relations with other workers or managers. In this paper, we argue that studying how discontinuities have been managed in a variety of settings may offer insights into the nature of post-bureaucratic work. The first contribution of this paper is a framework that illuminates commonalties in diverse non-bureaucratic work settings and thus suggests how the existing research in these settings might be integrated. Based on this framework, we then consider how various existing theories might be integrated into a theory of post-bureaucratic organizing. We conclude by proposing a set of questions for future research based on this perspective.}, keywords = {Discontinuity, Virtuality}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/academy2002.pdf}, author = {Chudoba, Katherine M. and Kevin Crowston and Mary Beth Watson-Manheim} } @proceedings {2002, title = {A New Perspective on "Virtual":Analyzing Discontinuities in the Work Environment}, year = {2002}, address = {Kona, HI}, abstract = {The word "virtual" has become a potent buzzword and, as such, is freely applied to many situations, with many meanings. As a result, it, like other buzzwords, is in danger of meaning nothing. In this paper, we develop a more precise understanding of the use of the word "virtual" to describe changing work environments. Our specific contribution is to propose a framework to classify these different work environments based on the type of discontinuities involved. This framework enables us to compare research across a variety of different topics and work settings and further develop a foundation for future research investigating managing and working in this new environment. In this paper; we test our framework by using it to classify 75 published articles on virtual work environments and from earlier research streams.}, keywords = {Virtuality}, doi = {10.1109/HICSS.2002.994446}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/hicss2002.pdf}, author = {Mary Beth Watson-Manheim and Kevin Crowston and Chudoba, Katherine M.} } @proceedings {Wigand:2001, title = {Information and communication technologies in the real estate industry: Results of a pilot survey [Research in progress]}, year = {2001}, pages = {339-343}, address = {Bled, Slovenia}, abstract = {We have been studying the growing use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the residential real estate industry and the effects of this use on how realtors work. Earlier stages of our project involved qualitative research to develop a better understanding of the industry, the work of realtors and their use of ICT. In this paper we report on the results of qualitative research and a pilot of a survey intended to gather large-scale data on realtors and ICT use.}, keywords = {Real Estate}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/ecis2001.pdf}, author = {Rolf Wigand and Kevin Crowston and Sawyer, Steve and Allbritton, Marcel}, editor = {Smithson, Steve and Gricar, Joze and Podlogar, Mateja and Avgerinou, Sophia} } @article {Crowston:2001, title = {Investigating the interplay between structure and information and communications technology in the real estate industry}, journal = {Information, Technology \& People}, volume = {14}, number = {2}, year = {2001}, pages = {163{\textendash}183}, abstract = {Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are reshaping many industries, often by reshaping how information is shared. However, while the effects and uses of ICT are often associated with organizations (and industries), their use occurs at the individual level. To explore the relationships between individual uses of ICT and changes to organization and industry structures, we examined the residential real estate industry. As agents, buyers and sellers increase their uses of ICT, they also change how they approach their daily work. The increasing uses of ICT are simultaneously altering industry structures by subverting some of the realtors{\textquoteright} control over information while also reinforcing the existing contract-based structures. This structurational perspective and our findings help to explain why information intermediaries persist when technology-based perspectives would suggest their disappearance.}, keywords = {Real Estate}, doi = {10.1108/09593840110695749}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/itp2001.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston and Sawyer, Steve and Rolf Wigand} } @proceedings {Sawyer:2000, title = {How do information and communication technologies reshape work? Evidence from the residential real estate industry}, year = {2000}, address = {Brisbane, Australia, December 10{\textendash}13}, abstract = {We are exploring how information and communication technology (ICT) use affects the work lives of real estate agents, the process of selling/buying houses, and the overall structure of the residential real estate industry. Earlier stages of our work involved intensive field research on how real estate agents use ICT. In this paper, we report on the design and analysis of a pilot survey of 868 agents intended to investigate their ICT use more generally. Analysis of the 153 responses to this survey sheds light on how ICT use supports information control, enables process support, and helps agents to extend and maintain their social capital.}, keywords = {Real Estate}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/00RIP21.pdf}, author = {Sawyer, Steve and Kevin Crowston and Allbritton, Marcel and Rolf Wigand} } @article {2000, title = {Reproduced and emergent genres of communication on the World-Wide Web}, journal = {Information Society}, volume = {16}, number = {3}, year = {2000}, note = {Proceedings of the Thirtieth Hawaii International Conference on Systems Science (HICSS{\textendash}30), Maui, HI, USA, January.}, pages = {201-215}, abstract = {The World Wide Web is growing quickly and being applied to many new types of communications. As a basis for studying organizational communications, Yates and Orlikowski (1992; Orlikowski \& Yates, 1994) proposed using genres. They deŽfined genres as {\textquotedblleft}typified communicative actions characterized by similar substance and form and taken in response to recurrent situations{\textquotedblright} (Yates \& Orlikowski, 1992, p. 299). They further suggested that communications in a new media would show both reproduction and adaptation of existing communicative genres as well as the emergence of new genres. We studied these phenomena on the World Wide Web by examining 1000 randomly selected Web pages and categorizing the type of genre represented. Although many pages recreated genres familiar from traditional media, we also saw examples of genres being adapted to take advantage of the linking and interactivity of the new medium and novel genres emerging to Ž t the unique communicative needs of the audience.We suggest that Web-site designers consider the genres that are appropriate for their situation and attempt to reproduce or adapt familiar genres.}, doi = {10.1080/01972240050133652 }, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/7734060030-1.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston and Williams, Marie} } @proceedings {Crowston:1999a, title = {The effects of linking on genres of web documents}, year = {1999}, address = {Maui, Hawai{\textquoteright}i, January}, abstract = {Documents on the Web can be composed of multiple Web pages, suggesting the need to consider how linking between pages affects a document{\textquoteright}s form. We illustrate this point by considering patterns of linking in a common genre of document, the Frequently Asked Questions file or FAQ. In a sample of 70 FAQs, we found four patterns of linking: no links, links within the page, links to pages on the same host and links to other hosts. We suggest that links that tie together document pieces simply recreate the already accepted FAQ genre, but links that provide navigation within the document or that link to other information sources begin to extend and adapt the FAQ genre to the needs and capabilities of the Web.}, isbn = {0-7695-0001-3}, doi = {10.1109/HICSS.1999.772648}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/hicss99.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston and Williams, Marie} } @proceedings {Sawyer:1999a, title = {ICT in the real estate industry: Agents and social capital}, year = {1999}, address = {Milwaukee, WI}, abstract = {For the past year, we have been involved in a study of the ways in which information and communications technologies (ICT) are becoming pervasive in the residential real estate industry and their effects on the work lives of real estate agents. Our initial results suggest that analyzing an agent{\textquoteright}s social capital{\textendash}the set of social resources embedded in relationships{\textendash}provides insight into how real estate agents work and how that work is affected by ICT. Social capital has three components: structural, relational, and cognitive. ICT use affects all three components. }, keywords = {Real Estate}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/ICT\%20in\%20the\%20real\%20estate\%20industry\%20Agents\%20and\%20social\%20capital.pdf}, author = {Sawyer, Steve and Kevin Crowston and Rolf Wigand} } @article {Crowston:1999b, title = {Real estate war in cyberspace: An emerging electronic market?}, journal = {International Journal of Electronic Markets}, volume = {9}, number = {1{\textendash}2}, year = {1999}, pages = {1{\textendash}8}, abstract = {In this paper, we explore how electronic commerce, the World-Wide Web in particular, is affecting the real estate industry. Real estate is a promising setting for studying electronic commerce because it is an information-intensive and informationdriven industry; transaction-based, with high value and asset-specificity; with many market-intermediaries (agents and brokers who connect buyers and sellers rather than buying or selling themselves); and experiencing on-going information technology (IT) related changes. We analyze a real estate transaction to suggest where IT might change the process of buying or selling a house and discuss several current ventures in this area. This analysis suggests that Web-based commerce is eroding the long-enjoyed information monopoly of real-estate agents and electronic commerce applications have the potential to drastically change current practices in the real-estate industry, including the disintermediation of agents.}, keywords = {Real Estate}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/empaper.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston and Rolf Wigand} } @article {Malone:1999, title = {Tools for inventing organizations: Toward a handbook of organizational processes}, journal = {Management Science}, volume = {45}, number = {3}, year = {1999}, note = {Reprinted in Malone, T. W., Crowston, K. \& Herman, G. (Eds.) Organizing Business Knowledge: The MIT Process Handbook. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2003. Reprinted in Malone, T. W., Laubacher, R. \& Scott Morton, M. S. (Eds.). Inventing the Organizations of the 21st Century. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2003.}, pages = {425{\textendash}443}, abstract = {This paper describes a novel theoretical and empirical approach to tasks such as business process redesign and knowledge management. The project involves collecting examples of how different organizations perform similar processes, and organizing these examples in an on-line "process handbook." The handbook is intended to help people: (1) redesign existing organizational processes, (2) invent new organizational processes (especially ones that take advantage of information technology), and (3) share ideas about organizational practices. A key element of the work is an approach to analyzing processes at various levels of abstraction, thus capturing both the details of specific processes as well as the "deep structure" of their similarities. This approach uses ideas from computer science about inheritance and from coordination theory about managing dependencies. A primary advantage of the approach is that it allows people to explicitly represent the similarities (and differences) among related processes and to easily find or generate sensible alternatives for how a given process could be performed. In addition to describing this new approach, the work reported here demonstrates the basic technical feasibility of these ideas and gives one example of their use in a field study.}, keywords = {Coordination, Handbook, Process}, doi = {10.1287/mnsc.45.3.425}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/ms99.pdf}, author = {Malone, Thomas W. and Kevin Crowston and Lee, Jintae and Pentland, Brian and Dellarocas, Chrysanthos and Wyner, George and Quimby, John and Osborn, Charley and Bernstein, Avi and Herman, George and Klein, Mark and O{\textquoteright}Donnell, Elissa} } @proceedings {Crowston:1998, title = {Use of the web for electronic commerce in real estate}, year = {1998}, address = {Baltimore, MD}, abstract = {In this paper, we will explore the ways in which electronic commerce, the World-wide Web (WWW) in particular, is affecting the real estate industry. Real estate is a promising setting for studying electronic commerce because it is an information-intensive and information-driven industry; transaction-based, with high value and asset-specificity; market-intermediary (agents and brokers connect buyers and sellers rather than buying or selling themselves); and experiencing on-going information technology (IT) related changes. In this paper, we apply a coordination theory framework to suggest where IT might change the process of buying or selling a house. Electronic commerce applications have the potential to drastically change current practices in the real-estate industry, including the disintermediation of agents. Web-based commerce is eroding the long-enjoyed information monopoly of real-estate agents. We illustrate this potential by reviewing a number of existing real estate websites that demonstrate the possible impact of electronic commerce on this industry.}, keywords = {Real Estate}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu./sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/amcis98.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston and Rolf Wigand} }