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A Matchmaking Service to Unite Scientists and Citizen Volunteers

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A Matchmaking Service to Unite Scientists and Citizen Volunteers
Adrienne Burke, Contributor

When an earthquake shook the midAtlantic states this summer, the US Geological Survey got help gauging the accuracy of its seismographic equipment from ScienceforCitizens.net users who Tweeted details about their SciStarter.com location and the impact they felt. University of Waterloo researchers have also relied on Science for Citizens for help calibrating weather-reading instruments by comparing satellite-based estimates to the site’s users’ measurements of actual snowfall where they live. And scientists at the Paleontological Research Institution who recovered a mastodon fossil from Hyde Park, NY, a decade ago are still learning about Pleistocene ecology from Science for Citizen volunteers who have been sifting through the 22 tons of matrix that was excavated there. SciStarter.com, a new and improved iteration of Science for Citizens that launched this week, is designed to facilitate more of this kind of crowdsourced science by matching citizen scientists with research projects that need their help. Whether it’s collecting volcanic ash, tracking diabetic health, or taking microbial samples from their water heater tanks, SciStarter volunteers will find hundreds of opportunities to contribute to science in their spare time. Researchers can tap the resources of the growing citizen science community by posting projects there. The only website of its kind, SciStarter could also prove useful in emergency response and public health crises. Founder Darlene Cavalier says the site is already equipped to respond to pop-up crises and pandemics, with projects such as SafeCast—the radiation detection and reporting system enacted recently in Japan—ready to go in the SciStarter database.

Cavalier, a leader of the citizen science movement, is also the founder of ScienceCheerleader.com, a community of professional cheerleaders who happen also to have science training. Their mission is to promote public science literacy and grow the ranks of citizen scientists (Cavalier herself is a former Philadelphia 76ers cheerleader with a master’s degree in science history and policy from the University of Pennsylvania). It was the increasing popularity of ScienceforCitizens.net—more than 10,000 visitors per month—that convinced Cavalier there was a need for a more robust way to connect scientists with citizens, as well as an opportunity to convert the online community to a sustainable business. ―Science for Citizens was the proofof-concept that this wasn’t a passing fancy,‖ she says. ―Projects were growing and people were actually getting involved. SciStarter will make it much easier for people to participate and for scientists to post projects.‖ Users can search for opportunities by topic – archeology, climate & weather, physics, etc.—or by activity, such as ―at the beach,‖ ―in the car,‖ or ―while fishing.‖ Advertisers will target citizen scientists with tools and gear, like binoculars, telescopes, and cameras. Cavalier says user demographics are broad, and vary by project. People who get involved in environmental conservation science tend to be older with graduate degrees and great income, and astronomy project volunteers are generally younger males, she says. ―Someone looking for an opportunity to react to a crisis is different from an avid nature enthusiast who wants to help study long-term trending of monarch butterflies,‖ Cavalier says. ―That’s how the citizen science movement is going to succeed. I love that.‖

Summary SciStarter.com, a new and improved iteration of Science for Citizens that launched this week, is designed to facilitate more of this kind of crowdsourced science by matching citizen scientists with research projects that need their help. Whether it’s collecting volcanic ash, tracking diabetic health, or taking microbial samples from their water heater tanks, SciStarter volunteers will find hundreds of opportunities to contribute to science in their spare time. Researchers can tap the resources of the growing citizen science community by posting projects there.

Description Users can search for opportunities by topic – archeology, climate & weather, physics, etc.—or by activity, such as “at the beach,” “in the car,” or “while fishing.” Advertisers will target citizen scientists with tools and gear, like binoculars, telescopes, and cameras. Cavalier says user demographics are broad, and vary by project. People who get involved in environmental conservation science tend to be older with graduate degrees and great income, and astronomy project volunteers are generally younger males, she says.

Tags: astronomy, Citizen Volunteers, Conservation Science, Crowdsourcing, Science for Citizens, SciStarter, US Geological Survey

Posted by Jayne Ann

Nov 14, 2011 01:12 am GMT Viewed 1074 times

Author: Adrienne Burke Source

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