Introduction: Academic crowdsourcing from the periphery to the centre

This chapter gives a brief introduction to the volume, and an historical overview of academic crowdsourcing. Beginning with the definition of crowdsourcing which we first proposed in 2012, The origins of academic crowdsourcing are outlined, and we consider the arguments as to whether it can be said to have evolved from a means of producing digital resources to a research methodology. We discuss the basis of the research drawn upon in the following chapters, the material gathered and the methodologies used to interrogate it.