Community science

Overview

You've spent the semester learning about ecological research and recreating some classic experiments. We've also discussed research being conducted in institutes, centers, and universities all around the world. This lab introduces you to a growing research area where scientists use data collected or analyzed by community scientists. Community science projects take advantage of in-person and on-line resources and volunteer hours to allow amateur scientists to contribute en masse to on-going projects. For this lab you'll be exploring some of these projects and contributing to an on-going project.

Background

Objectives

Students should be able to

Define community science and discuss its growth and impact on research
Describe the experiment they contributed to as a community scientist

Introduction: Why Community Science?

Community science projects take advantage of existing resources and skills to complete projects that might otherwise be unachieveable due to funding or technology. Large-scale monitoring efforts, for example, can be greatly aided by using data collected by volunteers. Bioblitzes, a growing activity where groups assemble to document all biodiversity in an area, are excellent examples of how amateur naturalists can be paired with experienced scientists to greatly increase our knowledge of local and regional biodiversity. Humans are also innately good at tasks that are hard to automate, such as pattern and hand-writing recognition. You can learn more about the in's and out's of community science by looking at the FAQ and information sections provided on the Zooniverse site (https://www.zooniverse.org/). More information on community science can be downloaded here: https://www.amnh.org/content/download/418835/6050574/file/what-is-community-science-and-how-do-i-get-involved.pdf

Community Science - student

Lab Activity

An overview of today's activitis can be downloaded here: https://www.amnh.org/content/download/418835/6050574/file/what-is-community-science-and-how-do-i-get-involved.pdf Students may work in groups by selecting the same project and/or sharing computers if needed.

Zooniverse (https://www.zooniverse.org/) is one of the world's largest portals for community science projects. Although Zooniverse has projects on topics ranging from history to astronomy, for this exercise you’ll select one project from the Climate or Nature tab. You may register for the site so you can track your work, but few projects require it. First, survey the range of projects available for the public to participate in. Go to the Projects tab and select “Climate” or “Nature”.

Use the tabs to learn more about 3 projects. Briefy describe each.
How do they differ, and how are they similar? List at least 3 similarities and 3 differences among the projects.

Choose one that you fnd the most interesting and would like to contribute to.

Which project did you choose and why?
What are the goals of the project, and why do you think it is important? Spend at least 30 minutes collecting or analyzing data for the project.
Save a screenshot showing what you did as a community scientist and include in the submission of your assignment. Explain what the image shows and briefy describe what you did for the project as a community scientist.
How did the project exemplify the use of “systematic approaches” (clear, standardized methods) to data collection or analysis?
What is a hypothesis that could be tested using the data that you worked with?
Did you fnd working on the project interesting? Why or why not?
Were you surprised by what research can look like? What did you expect, and how did your experience meet your expectations?
Would you volunteer your time on the site again? Why or why not?

Your instructor may also assign additional assignments (e.g. use the information you fnd on Zooniverse to prepare a short “commercial” or social media post for the project you worked on. You should focus on what the project is trying to accomplish, what you did, and why someone should want to contribute.; identify a local opportunity to contribute to data collection as a community scientist and take part! )

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