Crowdsourcing som tillämpningsmetod hos svenska arkivinstitutioner : En kvalitativ undersökning ur ett maktperspektiv

Sammanfattning: In this thesis I have chosen to study the use of crowdsourcing in Swedish archival institutions as well as the influence this methodic platform has on the work of modern archivists. This also raises the question whether the nature of the platform is in any way influenced by the attitude working professionals might have towards crowdsourcing as a legitimed working method. This investigation is based on case studies and interviews with archivists from select Swedish institutions and also the methodology of two now ongoing crowdsourcing projects. The theoretical framework on which this composition is based comes from the work of Gregory Asmolov and his work on crowdsourcing platforms and their functionality as tools of governing. Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) is applied to analyze how the method of crowdsourcing is utilised by archival institutions and influenced by their daily routine in conjunction with Governmentality as the chosen way of studying how these platforms might control their users. From the results of the performed case studies, two discourses emerged based on the view on quality concerning gathered information amongst the involved subjects. The first of these discourses places it´s trust and faith in users themselves where validity is of a lesser concern than the actual availability of information through the concept of ”wisdom of the crowds”. Discourse number two represents an alternate perspective where quality of information is of the outmost importance and requires the supervision of professionals upon the work of common users. Through the course of this study I have come to find that the use of crowdsourcing in Swedish archival institutions is mainly controlled by the archivist in charge´s attitude towards this specific working method and in a larger context also formed by the basic archival discourse, legal questions and financial matters of the last century. This is a two years master’s thesis in Archive, Library and Museum studies.