This is a citizen science overview particularly aimed at graduate students enrolled in a new course at Arizona State University, aptly titled "Citizen Science." The author of this presentation, and course instructor, Darlene Cavalier, will talk students through its nuances and intersections with science, technology, and society.

1. “Public is dumb.” Scientists are skeptical.
QuickTime™ and a
YUV420 codec decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
YouTube video: http://tinyurl.com/n3dxso5

2. International comparison:
American adults rank 2nd
in civic science literacy.
Professor Jon Miller (U of MI).

3. CIVIC SCIENTIFIC LITERACY IN THE
US, 1988 – 2005
[MILLER, J.D., 2007]
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Year
Percent CSL
 In 2005 U.S. Ranked Second only to
Sweden in Civic Scientific Literacy
 Civic Scientific Literacy in the U.S. ,
while still low, has tripled between
1988 and 2005.
More can be done.

4. COMMUNICATION +ENGAGEMENT
 Little evidence exposure to information per se leads to
either deeper understanding or an ability to
incorporate scientific knowledge into better decision
making.
 Important to think about communication as a process
of mutual interaction and a seeking of understanding,
rather than simply as a means to transmit knowledge
accurately to the public.
 When science is not emotionally satisfying, it
will fail to address deeper questions of identity
and personal experience and will be rejected in
favor of less reliable sources of information and
advice.
-- Judith Ramaley, Science Literacy for the 21st Century
More can be done.

5. To find projects, citizen scientists
have to search and search
About 137,000 results

6. Darlene Cavalier
www.scistarter.com

7. We are a website
that connects
regular people
to
real science
they can do.

8. Millions of people
enjoy
science & nature.
Thousands of
scientists need
volunteers.
But they can’t find
each other.

9. We
connect
them
Scientist image
and cit scientist
images tk to
illustrate “we
connect them”
We
connect
them

10. Someone you know is a
CITIZEN SCIENTIST
eBird
1.5 million
reports
Water testing
1.5 million
monitors
SETI@ home
5 million
volunteers

11. Accelerating
analysis of
tumor samples
in huge
datasets.
Forecasting
solar activity
that poses
radiation risks
to humans and
hardware in
space. (NASA
crowdsourcing)
Analyzing wild
algae species
for their
potential to
produce
biofuels.
Citizen Science IS Serious Science.

12. Citizen Microbiology Projects
http://www.microbe.net/citizen-science-projects/

13. Searchable database of projects.
To make it easier for people to learn about and get involved in projects.To make it easier for people to learn about and get involved in projects.

14. We help
project
organizers
reach people.
Partner up!
Crowdsource
the
crowdsourcing.

15. University of Waterloo’s Snow Tweets
goal Help researchers calibrate accuracy of snow measurement tools
task Measure snow where you are, tweet or upload your geotagged data
Tripled three-year participation rate in one season.

16. What motivatesmotivates participants to act?

17. To advance fields of research.

18. To connect/protect nature.To connect/protect nature.

19. Personal enrichment, satisfy curiosity.Personal enrichment, satisfy curiosity.

20. To shape emerging fields.To shape emerging fields.

21. Money.Money.

22. Community/civic concerns.Community/civic concerns.

23. Community/civic concerns.Community/civic concerns.

24. “Each image you will see is a tiny tumour sample from a huge dataset. Help our
scientists to accelerate the analysis of this data by identifying the coloured sections
of the image using our prompts, and bring forward the cures for cancers.”
Help cure cancer.Help cure cancer.

25. Help cure cancer.Help cure cancer.

26. Set a Guinness World Record!
.

27. Big Cheer for Science!
Monitor earthquakes for
United States Geological Survey

28. QuickTime™ and a
H.264 decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
YouTube link: http://tinyurl.com/mgqxogo

29. Boys, too!

30. National Partnership with Pop Warner Little Scholars
Mentorships (in person and via Skype)
Science Festival appearances
Citizen Science introductions
Science of Cheerleading app
PI s new citizen science research projects
We are 250 members strong….and growing
The Science Cheerleaders reach NEW audiences.

31. www.SpaceMicrobes.org

33. Common sectors
Research question, community concern
Participation/ engagement
Incentives , motivations
Appropriate technology
Certifications/ qualifications
Quality of data
Privacy/ownership of data
Policy implications

34. Resources:
Human cognition/analysis platforms: PyBossa/Crowdcraft,
CosmoQuest, Zooniverse
Sample collection: SciStarter, others working with the people or
surfaces/bodies you want to reach (consider partnering up with
other citsci project organizers).
Sampling protocols, consent forms, etc: MicroBEnet, Your Wild
Life
Crowdfunding: uBiome
References, links to other practitioners, more tools:
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/citscitoolkit/resources

35. “Citizen science has helped democratize science
and helped people to understand they can have
an influence on science by being a part of it.”
Rick Bonney, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

36. From citizen science to citizen policy.
Hey! Hey! What do you say?
Let’s bring back the OTA!*
(With citizen input!)
*The now defunct Congressional Office of Technology Assessment

37. From citizen science to citizen policy.
Expert and Citizen Assessment of Science and Technology.
https://ecastnetwork.wordpress.com/
ECAST: Distributed network to create/evaluate mechanism to
inform public and solicit input in matters of sci/tech policy.
Founding Partners:
Arizona State University
Boston Museum of Science
Loka Institute
Science Cheerleader/ SciStarter
UMass Amherst
Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars.

38. From citizen science to citizen policy.
Expert and Citizen Assessment of Science and Technology.
http://ecastnetwork.wordpress.com
Pilot project in four locations.
Dissemination of white paper to Congress; public release of outcomes at
Wilson Center event.
Active workshops and meetings to align process with GAO and other
Congressional support agencies.
Designed to complement expert analysis.
Report about participatory technology assessment (pTA) prepared by ECAST
members. Primary motivation is to articulate the role that a network like
ECAST might play in conducting and institutionalizing pTA in the U.S.
Mobilize an informed populace to tell us what science cannot.

39. By helping people rediscover, do, and
shape STEM, we can mobilize one of the
our greatest resources.
It’s never too late.