Crowdsourcing (College Board AP® Computer Science Principles): Revision Note
Crowdsourcing
What is crowdsourcing?
Crowdsourcing is the practice of obtaining input or information from a large number of people, typically via the Internet
Widespread access to information and public data facilitates the identification of problems, development of solutions, and dissemination of results
It allows organizations and researchers to access ideas, data, or labor from many individuals at once, rather than relying solely on a small in-house team
Crowdsourcing works at scale: thousands or millions of people can contribute to a single project from anywhere in the world
Applications of crowdsourcing
Citizen science: scientific research conducted in whole or part by distributed individuals, many of whom may not be scientists, who contribute relevant data using their own computing devices (e.g., reporting bird sightings, classifying galaxy images)
Problem-solving: organizations post challenges online and reward participants whose solutions are selected
Information sharing: large groups contribute to shared knowledge resources (e.g., collaborative encyclopedias, mapping platforms)
Funding: many individuals contribute small amounts toward a single project (crowdfunding)
Crowdsourcing application | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
Citizen science | Collects scientific observations from the public | Volunteers reporting local wildlife sightings to a research database |
Collaborative knowledge | Builds shared information resources | Users contributing entries to a community-maintained encyclopedia |
Problem-solving challenges | Invites solutions from many individuals | A company offering a prize for the best algorithm to solve a logistics problem |
How crowdsourcing enhances human capabilities
Crowdsourcing models enable computing to enhance human capabilities by combining the input of many people through Internet-based platforms
It allows problems to be tackled that are too large or complex for any single individual or organization to solve alone
New collaborative models continue to emerge as Internet access expands and platforms make participation easier
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Exam questions about crowdsourcing often ask why an innovation chose this approach; common reasons include reaching a larger group, gathering more data, or solving a problem that would be impractical for one team to handle.
For the CPT, if your program collects or uses data from many users (e.g., reviews, ratings, contributions), this is an example of crowdsourcing in practice and worth mentioning in your written response.
Worked Example
A research team wants to study bird populations across an entire country but does not have the staff to observe birds in every region. They build a website where members of the public can submit photos and locations of birds they see. Which of the following best describes the team's approach?
(A) Bias reduction, because they include data from many sources
(B) Crowdsourcing, because they collect input from many individuals via the Internet
(C) Encryption, because data is sent online
(D) Open-source development, because the public can contribute to the project
[1]
Answer:
(B) Crowdsourcing, because they collect input from many individuals via the Internet [1 mark]
The team is gathering data from a large number of public contributors through an online platform, which is the defining feature of crowdsourcing.
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