Understanding User Dimensions of the Geospatial Web
The Geospatial Web (Scharl and Tochterman, 2007), or the merging of location with content information on the Internet, has resulted from both technical and social changes. Civilian access to GPS signals, the availability of application programming interfaces (API) that enable the mashup of geospatial data from disparate sources onto a map-based platform, the increasing maturity of open-source geospatial software, and the rapid spread of geo-enabled mobile devices have made it easier for people to access and use geospatial data online. At the same time, a culture of collaborative online mapping by users who are not GIS professionals has emerged. Non-professional users of geospatial information, rather than being passive recipients of maps and data from official sources, have become a major source of creativity and innovation in the Geospatial Web.
For example, OpenStreetMap (OSM) (http://www.openstreetmap.org/
The U.S> Geological Survey (USGS) has a vital interest in understanding these non-professional and non-traditional users. The recent USGS science strategy laid out six aspirational future science directions for the agency: ecosystems; climate variability; a water census of the United States; hazards, risk, and resilience; human health; and energy and minerals (U.S. Geological Survey, 2007). User-generated data and new Internet mapping technologies could supplement data collection in these theme areas as well as facilitate communities of interest among the general public. Citizen mapping projects are worthy of study, as both social and technical phenomena, as little is understood about the motivations of participants, the accuracy and completeness of the data that are produced, or the best methods to structure collaborations between professionals and citizen scientists.
This Research Opportunity focuses on the impact the Geospatial Web will have on future users of The National Map (www.nationalmap.gov), which provides a geospatial platform for integrated data exploration, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and information visualization in a geospatial context and is an important vehicle for realizing the vision of the USGS science strategy. In addition to planning for the changing nature of data users and their technologies, the concept of usability must extend beyond traditional motions of the interface to consider the context of the whole system of data, standards, and people that constitute The National Map and its delivery system—the Internet, and the devices with which it is accessed. The potential research topics can be quite wide ranging and can be attacked by both quantitative and qualitative methodologies or by a combination. How will The National Map of the future support interactive visualizations of scientific data? How can the interface be improved? What are the emergent trends in crowdsourcing and social networking, and what are their implications for geospatial data and the USGS? How should data be delivered to mobile devices, and how can mobile devices be used for updating databases? What motivates citizen scientists? How do communities, whether groups of scientists, decisionmakers, or citizens, collaborate using high performance computing? The ideal candidate will have experience using quantitative and qualitative methods to study emerging trends in human-computer interface (CHI) research and user-centered design as they relate to the Geospatial Web, an emerging area of research for GIScience at the USGS according to the National Research Council (2007). Project topics can be drawn from the six USGS science themes discussed above. We have a particular interest in proposals that deal with the hazards, risk, and resilience theme. Proposals should demonstrate creative thinking and have strong theoretical and empirical components.
Geographic information science research for The National Map is conducted by the Center for Excellence in Geographical Information Science (CEGIS) (http://www.cegis.gov), a distributed team of researchers with affiliates at Colorado University, The Pennsylvania State University, and the University of California at Santa Barbara. Candidates will have broad opportunity to interact with these researchers, who have ongoing projects on such topics as user-centered design, ontology, generalization, and cyberinfrastruture. The candidate can also draw on an established network of Federal, State, and local government agencies that contribute data to The National Map. There will be opportunities for the candidate to mentor several Ph.D. students.
References
Haklay, M., 2010, How good is OpenStreetMap information? A comparative study of OpenStreetMap and Ordnance Survey datasets: Environment and Planning B, v. 37, p. 682–703.
National Research Council, 2007, A research agenda for geographic information science at the United States Geological Survey: Washington, DC, National Academy Press [http://books.nap.edu/catalog.
Scharl, A., and K. Tochterman, eds., 2007, The Geospatial Web: London: Springer.
U.S. Geological Survey, 2007, Facing tomorrow's challenges: U.S. Geological Survey Science in the decade 2007-2017: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1039 [http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/
Proposed Duty Station: Saint Petersburg, FL; Denver, CO
Areas of Ph.D.: GIScience, geography, human-computer interface (CHI) or graphic design (candidates holding a Ph.D. in other disciplines but with knowledge and skills relevant to the Research Opportunity may be considered).
Qualifications: Applicants must meet one of the following qualifications: Research Geographer, Research Physical Scientist
(This type of research is performed by those who have backgrounds for the occupations stated above. However, other titles may be applicable depending on the applicant's background, education, and research proposal. The final classification of the position will be made by the Human Resources specialist.)
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