Not Just in it for the Money : A Qualitative Investigation of Workers' Perceived Benefits of Micro-task Crowdsourcing
Research output: Chapters, Conference Papers, Creative and Literary Works (RGC: 12, 32, 41, 45) › 32_Refereed conference paper (with ISBN/ISSN) › peer-review
Author(s)
Related Research Unit(s)
Detail(s)
Original language | English |
---|---|
Title of host publication | Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences |
Publisher | IEEE Computer Society |
Pages | 773-782 |
Volume | 2015-March |
ISBN (Print) | 9781479973675 |
Publication status | Published - 26 Mar 2015 |
Publication series
Name | |
---|---|
Volume | 2015-March |
ISSN (Print) | 1530-1605 |
Conference
Title | 48th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, HICSS 2015 |
---|---|
Place | United States |
City | Kauai |
Period | 5 - 8 January 2015 |
Link(s)
Abstract
Micro-task crowd sourcing fosters a labor relation in which large volumes of small, simple tasks are completed at low cost by self-selected online workers. The growth of micro-task crowd sourcing, characterized by apparently low remuneration, begs the question how individual participants perceive the benefits of such micro work. In response we conducted a survey on Amazon's Mechanical Turk, a premier micro-task crowd sourcing platform. The sample included workers in the US and India. Through open-ended questions we inquired about perceived benefits of participants' work. A thematic analysis of responses revealed many benefits: monetary compensation, self-improvement, time management, emotional rewards, and benefits related to the characteristics of micro-tasking. Workers compartmentalized money earned from micro work into different non-fungible mental accounts for different purposes. American and Indian workers differed in non-monetary benefit perceptions. Indian workers valued self-improvement benefits, whereas American workers valued emotional benefits. Our results suggest that workers' recognize a diverse portfolio of benefits through micro work.
Citation Format(s)
Not Just in it for the Money : A Qualitative Investigation of Workers' Perceived Benefits of Micro-task Crowdsourcing. / Jiang, Ling; Wagner, Christian; Nardi, Bonnie.
Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. Vol. 2015-March IEEE Computer Society, 2015. p. 773-782 7069747.Research output: Chapters, Conference Papers, Creative and Literary Works (RGC: 12, 32, 41, 45) › 32_Refereed conference paper (with ISBN/ISSN) › peer-review