PRO ~
Participant Reseach Online
A CROWDSOURCING PROJECT
Want to be a Genious?
Go ahead - Be an Expert - Be a Scholar - Be a Genius
Why not.
And be serious about it. Really do it.
So how do you do it?
You do it with Crowdsourcing and this Website
- that's how.
I don't care if you never got a GED
or have a PhD from Stanford.
You've got a brain - and if you combine your brain with other brains, you can do anything.
That's Crowdsourcing - That's PRO Reseach.
How It Works
Each Project has one or more Documents in it –
First – Select a Project Being Developed from the menu-bar above,
or from the Current Projects listed below.
Next – Download a Document, read it, and think about it.
Then – Either write your comments - or - edit the Document using
MS Word Track Changes (for .doc & docx documents).
Finally – Submit revised document or send your comments to us by
clicking on the Contact button in the menu above.
Your Acknowledgement
On each revised version of a Document the name of each contributor will be added, but only if you want. Simply let us know if you'd like to be acknowledged as a contributor or remain anonymous. If you want to be acknowledged, along with your submission include your name and, if you wish, your affiliation (e.g., Alan Turing, Cambridge).
Current Projects Being Developed
I don’t think New York City taxis take cash anymore. The bank just notified me of a fraudulent charge to my account from a “cell phone money exchange” - whatever that is. And, what the hell is a BitCoin anyway? The concept of money has always been gradually changing, but it’s not gradual anymore. This Project looks at what those changes are now and what money will look like in the future.
How many great, or at least very good, works of art will be put in a dumpster when the artist dies? But, it doesn’t have to be that way. In the 21st Century, digital images let us capture at least a copy of their work. This project collects portfolios of the lesser-known and unknown artists.
So, what can you put on a website and not get sued for? CS works well for Wikipedia - though it took a lot to accomplish that. But, not so well in the Boston Marathon bombing tragedy - CS made a mess. This Project examines what PRO Research is really all about...
Sure - These are all brilliant ideas for brilliant Projects. But you may have a brilliant idea or two yourself. This Project allows you to build those ideas using crowdsourcing with PRO Research.
PRO Research
Times are changing. Because of the internet, anyone who has online access now can be involved in developing ideas of others and publishing ideas of their own. There’s a good side and a bad side to this: For the first time the thinking of people outside the mainstream of research and universities can be included (don’t forget that John Mill was a customs clerk). Yet, it also runs the risk of a bunch of weird people hijacking an idea or promoting some odd idea of their own.
The expectation is that, in opening the doors to all ideas by crowdsourcing, the tortuous process of “thinking” will result in the good, sound ideas winning-out. It worked for Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger in creating and revising Wikipedia. We’ll see if it can work for PRO.
PRO invites the public to participate in the development of ideas in economics, sociology, statistics, art, political science, international development and just about any other area of thought. But, doing so doesn’t exclude the role of experts - Those experts participate also, just like everyone else, and their expertise should take priority, that’s why they’re experts after all.
Your Contribution
Not money, but ideas –
Content – Send additional content for a Document. Of course, reference and use plain language and linear logic in what you send.
Accuracy – Please identify any errors you find in the logic or information in a Document.
Clarity – If something is unclear when you read a Document, let us know - your understanding of the Document is the whole point of this.
Rectification – Inevitably, there will be clerical errors (typos, grammar, punctuation) that distract from the content of a Document – please identify them for us to correct.
Your Own Ideas
PRO gives you a chance to develop your own ideas too. Just submit a draft (even a partial draft) of a document and PRO will take it from there - PRO will post it on the website; include you in overseeing the development of the project; and assist you in getting a copyright in your name. In return we only ask that PRO be acknowledged as an affiliation in any publication of your project. And yes PRO will screen-out ideas that are inappropriate, but we’ll be very liberal in doing so.
Of Course - There's a Catch to All This (no, not money, it's free)
Although PRO documents are copyrighted, you are encouraged (and permitted) to reproduce any current version of any document copyrighted to PRO (© 2014, PRO Participant Research Online) and disseminate it broadly - on three conditions: (1) that you not sell or in any way charge the recipient for the document or its contents including charges for reproduction or postage and shipping, (2) PRO, the author(s), contributors and copyright are acknowledged in each copy reproduced or distributed, and (3) when text is excerpted or information used from a PRO document in any published format, whether print or electronic, PRO, the author and title of the document are cited and referenced. For documents copyrighted to other sources, you need to get the permission of the holder of the copyright to reproduce and disseminate the document.