The Citizen Science of Risk in the Gulf Coast Oil Spill

University Of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia PA

Investigators

Abstract

Introduction This project assesses multi-stakeholder risk perception, monitoring, and evaluation of the British Petroleum oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. It will focus on a new citizen science interface called Ushahidi that has been developed for crowdsourcing the monitoring of disasters such as the spill; it allows the public to upload key information such as exposure data through cell phone-based text messages and web-based submissions. The PI will use interviews and video recordings with three core aims: To analyze crowdsourcing as a new form of citizen science, to investigate differences between lay experiences and governmental risk evaluation as driven by social and political and scientific factors, and to translate this research to broad audiences to facilitate improved disaster response and recovery. Intellectual Merit This project will provide critical insight into the gaps and conflicts between diverse perspectives on risk by focusing on the technological, scientific, social and experiential aspects of these processes. In so doing, it will provide insight into a neglected area of science and technology studies (STS), the role of workers in citizen science. It will also make a direct connection between disaster research and STS by examining the role of citizen science in disaster response. Connecting these literatures promises to reveal new insights about the social dimensions of technological innovations in disasters. A central contribution in this regard is an initial study of lay-driven risk mapping, which relates to developments in the areas of surveillance, technology in social movements, and the role of technology in governance. This project also offers methodological innovations in research by combining qualitative and visual data collection in disaster research. The research is of an urgent nature because the interviews must be done as close to the time that the Ushahidi data is being collected in order to obtain the most meaningful complementary qualitative data; perceptions and experiences are difficult to assess post-hoc, a problem classically termed recall bias, and that is particularly so in this case due to political and legal and media machinations. In addition, the findings in this project can be used to inform near-term disaster response. Broader Impacts The qualitative data generated from this study could be used to improve near-term disaster responses as well as fill gaps in mapping procedures that inform assessments of the impacts of the disaster. The results of this research will have the potential to facilitate improved outreach, messaging, and social services to local communities. The data will be disseminated in order to serve as an important resource for other researchers.