Scientific Utopia III: Crowdsourcing Science

Most scientific research is conducted by small teams of investigators who together formulate hypotheses, collect data, conduct analyses, and report novel findings. These teams operate independently as vertically integrated silos. Here we argue that scientific research that is horizontally distribute...

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Published inPerspectives on psychological science Vol. 14; no. 5; pp. 711 - 733
Main Authors Uhlmann, Eric Luis, Ebersole, Charles R., Chartier, Christopher R., Errington, Timothy M., Kidwell, Mallory C., Lai, Calvin K., McCarthy, Randy J., Riegelman, Amy, Silberzahn, Raphael, Nosek, Brian A.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.09.2019
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects
Alternative approaches
Ambition
Collaboration
Cooperative Behavior
Coordination
Crowdsourcing
Crowdsourcing - methods
Data Analysis
Data Collection - methods
Humans
Interprofessional Relations
Peer Review
Publishing
Reliability
Research Design
Science - methods
Teams
Transparency
Utopias
Writing
crowdsourcing
teams
collaboration
methodology
metascience
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Summary:Most scientific research is conducted by small teams of investigators who together formulate hypotheses, collect data, conduct analyses, and report novel findings. These teams operate independently as vertically integrated silos. Here we argue that scientific research that is horizontally distributed can provide substantial complementary value, aiming to maximize available resources, promote inclusiveness and transparency, and increase rigor and reliability. This alternative approach enables researchers to tackle ambitious projects that would not be possible under the standard model. Crowdsourced scientific initiatives vary in the degree of communication between project members from largely independent work curated by a coordination team to crowd collaboration on shared activities. The potential benefits and challenges of large-scale collaboration span the entire research process: ideation, study design, data collection, data analysis, reporting, and peer review. Complementing traditional small science with crowdsourced approaches can accelerate the progress of science and improve the quality of scientific research.
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ISSN:1745-6916
1745-6924
DOI:10.1177/1745691619850561