Citizen Science-A Researcher’s Aide

Written by Kat Perez

In a world rampant with mobile smart phones-essentially, portable, data collecting devices-data processors have more random data than ever before. So, if data collection has never been easier, why not control the data by asking users for exactly the information you are looking for? Enter citizen science. Rather than spending time, money and energy collecting data to answer questions, researchers are turning to, well, a lot of people.
 
According to the PEW Research Center, the global average of reported smart-phone ownership is 43%. The majority of this smart-phone toting population lives primarily in developed nations, so this demographic skew should be remembered and accounted for when attempting to utilize citizen science globally.
 
If you want to utilize this strategy, you need to do the following:

• Determine what question it is you want to answer-exactly. What data do you need and how does it need to be collected and formatted to be accurate and easy to gather. Also,    determine that this data will be easily visualized geospatially.
• Identify your users. What audience will most likely be gathering data for you. Are they       experts in the field? Have a geospatial background?

 
What is required, is websites that are easy to utilize and mobile apps that are simple to comprehend and collect accurate data with, without requiring the user to be an expert in the field of interest or geospatial concepts. The intricacies associate with geospatial data such as projections, datums, time-space etc. will likely have to be accounted for by the web-map maker.
 
The following are recommendations for creating a system that incorporates citizen science efforts and mobile-app data entry:

• Communicate the purposes of the website and the roles they support.
• Build features for both project managers and volunteers and clearly separate them.
• Develop customizable data entry forms that ensure data quality, yet remain simple.
• Create simple map applications that visualize accuracy, precision, and uncertainty.
• Add information to help with map interpretation (improve cognitive access).
• Provide a cursory understanding of spatial concepts through online help.
• Create transparent features that are used and explored by volunteers and volunteer coordinators; avoid limited black box systems (Merrick 2003).
• Provide rich content even in the absence of user-contributed web content.
• Incorporate communication features (e.g., training; data collection, entry, dissemination, and analysis; and communication from scientists back to volunteers).
• Create online questionnaire creation and delivery tools similar to Survey Monkey to better integrate user feedback, participation, and program evaluation

Source: Newman, 2010
 
Go to the link below to view some AWESOME examples of mobile apps that utilize citizen scientist to collect data:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/8-apps-that-turn-citizens-into-scientists/


 




















​Sources:

• Merrick, M., 2003. Reflections on PPGIS: a view from the trenches. Journal of the Urban and

Regional Information Systems Association , 15 (APA II), 33–39.

• Newman, G., 2010. User-friendly web mapping: Lessons from a citizen science website (PDF Download Available). Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/220650268_User-friendly_web_mapping_Lessons_from_a_citizen_science_website [accessed May 6, 2016].
• PEW Research Center., 2016. Smartphone-ownership-and-internet-usage-continues-to-climb-in-emerging-economies. http://www.pewglobal.org/2016/02/22/
• Image: www.openscientist.org

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