Citizen Science Toolkit updates, September 2009
Citizen Science Central news and updates, September 2009
To receive monthly updates via email, see listserv details below.
This month:
1. Sept 14-18: Online forum on Public Participation in Scientific Research
2. Toolkit discussion forum open!
3. Recent publications in Conservation Biology and TREE (Trends in Ecology and Evolution)
4. Texting data and naked people: report from the new Cricket Crawl project
============================
1. Sept 14-18: Online forum on Public Participation in Scientific Research (PPSR)
PPSR = volunteer monitoring, citizen science, community-based monitoring… what do you think? What motivates people (as volunteers or professionals) to get involved in any of the above, and what might each achieve from their participation? Are participants “scientists” or are they “data collectors”, and why might they want to be either?
Starting September 14th, a one-week online forum seeks feedback on these and other questions related to the recently released report, “Public Participation in Scientific Research: Defining the Field and Assessing Its Potential for Informal Science Education.” Input from the Citizen Science Central community is critical. Conversations will help determine how this document reflects the breadth of projects and research in this field.
The conversation is hosted by the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC), home of NSF’s Center for the Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE).
Here’s how to weigh in:
a. Set up an account (it’s quick and easy) with ASTC Connect: http://connect.astc.org/
b. Look for the CAISE Forum on Public Participation in Scientific Research
c. When prompted for an enrollment key, use “informal” (no quotes)
d. Reply to existing discussion topics, or post your own
The full PPSR report (or a 4-page Executive Summary) can be downloaded here:
http://caise.insci.org/news/79/51/Public-Participation-in-Scientific-Research/
============================
2. Toolkit discussion forum open!
We know this community has more than a week’s worth of thoughts and questions to share on the design and support of research projects involving public participants. The Toolkit discussion forum, now open, offers a new home for the collective knowledge of this field. Post your questions, offer your thoughts, and help advance what we all know about how to make these projects succeed. To join, visit the link below:
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/citscitoolkit/forum/invitation/request
Huge thanks to the volunteers who helped pilot this forum over the past month! Please join them in helping to make this an active and productive site by posting a profile and weighing in on discussions. Or get inspired, and add your own page! We all look forward to your contributions…
============================
3. Recent papers in Conservation Biology and TREE (Trends in Ecology and Evolution)
More and more, the academic literature is taking an interest in scientific research fueled by volunteers. Two recent publications offer perspectives from two different scientific communities: one describing the range of contributions of citizen science to studies of evolution and ecology (Silvertown), the other offering models for involving local participants in monitoring natural resources (Danielsen et al.). The latter is a particularly relevant read to the PPSR report (see item 1 in this email)… look for opportunities to discuss both of these papers on the Toolkit forum (item 2).
Silvertown, J. 2009. A new dawn for citizen science. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 24, 467-471. Download available at: http://www.jonathansilvertown.com/Site/Citizen_Science.html
Danielsen, F., Burgess, N. D., Balmford, A., Donald, P. F., Funder, M., Jones, J. P., Alviola, P., Balete, D. S., Blomley, T. & Brashares, J. 2009. Local Participation in Natural Resource Monitoring: a Characterization of Approaches. Conservation Biology, 23, 31-42. Download available at: http://www.nordeco.dk/page/research-projects
NOTE: Because this field is so interdisciplinary, publications are spread throughout many related fields and across many different journals. We could use your help to build a comprehensive list of publications related to public participation in scientific research (see the References link on www.citizenscience.org). If you have a relevant peer-reviewed publication (sorry, we don’t yet have the capacity to catalog newsletter or magazine publications), please email jls223@cornell.edu with the details.
============================
4. Texting data and naked people: report from the new Cricket Crawl project
Ask people to report observations at night, in New York City, and what do you get? Hundreds of data points on crickets and katydids, as well as some (not one, but several!) unexpected sightings! On Friday, September 11th, observers headed out with keen hearing and cell phones to text in their data*. Read more about Cricket Crawl on Citizen Science Central, and click on the logo for more details, results, and a sense of the good-humored, ground-up sensibility of this new project.
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/citscitoolkit/projects/pwrc/cricketcrawl
*Has anyone else tried data collection via cell phone? How has it worked? Share your thoughts on the discussion forum (see item 2, above, to learn how).
Listserv Details:
To unsubscribe, visit http://www.birds.cornell.edu/citscitoolkit/forum/listserv/
To join this list, visit http://www.birds.cornell.edu/citscitoolkit/forum/listserv/
With questions about the Citizen Science Toolkit listserv, email Jennifer Shirk, jls223@cornell.edu
