Tasks of a Different Color: How Crowdsourcing Practices Differ per Complex Task Type and Why This Matters

Yihong Wang, Konstantinos Papangelis, Ioanna Lykourentzou, Michael Saker, Alan Chamberlain, Vassilis Javed Khan, Hai Ning Liang, Yong Yue

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference Proceeding (Non-Journal item)

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Crowdsourcing in China is a thriving industry. Among its most interesting structures, we find crowdfarms, in which crowdworkers self-organize as small organizations to tackle macrotasks. Little, however, is known as to which practices these crowdfarms use to tackle the macrotasks, and this goes hand in hand with the current practice of the HCI research community to treat all forms of complex crowdsourcing work as practically the same. However, macrotasks differ substantially regarding structure and decomposability. Treating them under one umbrella term - macrotasking - can lead to an imprecise understanding of the workforce involved. We address this gap by examining the work practices of 31 Chinese crowdfarms on the four main macrotask types, namely: modular, interlaced, wicked, and container macrotasks. Our results confirm essential differences in how these nascent crowd organizations address different macrotasks and shed light on what platforms can do to improve the uptake of such work.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationCHI 2023 - Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
EditorsAlbrecht Schmidt, Kaisa Väänänen, Per Ola Kristensson, Anicia Peters, Stefanie Mueller, Julie R. Williams, Max L. Wilson
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery
ISBN (Electronic)9781450394215
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 19 Apr 2023
Event2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2023 - Hamburg, Germany
Duration: 23 Apr 202328 Apr 2023

Publication series

NameConference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings

Conference

Conference2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2023
Country/TerritoryGermany
CityHamburg
Period23 Apr 202328 Apr 2023

Keywords

  • Crowdfarms
  • Crowdsourcing
  • Work Practices

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