Methodology for CI monitoring

The complexity of scientific problems and the project team members expertise has led to research implemented with variety of methods. The key strength of the research methodology is that the CI phenomenon is examined by applying various scientific approaches to combine a range of perspectives into a systematic dynamic model of Collective Intelligence and develop a CI observation methodology based on the CI Potential Index calculation. The research methodology is shown schematically in the picture below.

Having assessed and integrated various approaches to CI, criteria for a CI emergence were identified and hypotheses on the impact of individual factors on the CI potential in online communities were formulated. These hypotheses were tested in the course of quantitative research and analysed during the qualitative research. The reseearch object was chosen to include both the most active initiators of the CI formation and present or potential members of online communities.

The Collective Intelligence Monitoring Technique was developed based on the theoretical framework of CI Potential Index. After aggregation and normalization of the numerical data, assessments of the probability of possible deviations (e.g., insufficiency of data) were made and individual index component weights in the index calculation formula were determined. The developed methodology was adapted for the virtual scientific environment based on automatic data storage and algorithmic data analysis. The CI Monitoring Technique incorporates opportunities to calculate the CI Potential Index and to monitor the CI emergence and development processes in networked structures (online communities, virtual platforms, etc.) by collecting empirical evidences. The proposed methodology will allow identifying and analyzing conditions that lead communities to become more collective intelligent.