Citizens as Data Donors: Maximizing Participation Through Privacy Assurance and Behavioral Change: (Short Paper)

Abstract

Data are the infrastructure of science, and for some scientific studies, a vast amount of data might be needed. One way to obtain such data is through Citizen Science (CS), a research technique that enlists the public in gathering data. Although citizens themselves can be the source of such data, most of the citizens’ participation in CS so far focused on providing data concerning almost everything except themselves. In particular, citizens can participate as data donors (Citizens as Data Donors (CaDD)), where they allow professionals to have access to their personal data for the purposes of the public good. However, personal data cannot be used without citizens’ consent as such data are protected by various privacy laws. In this paper, a method for maximizing citizens’ participation as data donors by understanding and addressing their privacy requirements taking into consideration the perceived benefits and ease of the donation behavior is proposed. The method is illustrated with an example concerning an Ambient-Assisted Living (AAL) System.