Citizen science involves lay people as volunteers in scientific research projects, expanding the scope of studies and generating large amounts of data. It can be fun and interesting for volunteers, and can involve fieldwork or data submission from home. Interested individuals can contact organizations like the Audubon Society to participate.
The term “citizen science” is used to refer to science projects that involve lay people as volunteers. Citizen science engages and interests people in science and the natural world, and also helps scientists immensely by enabling them to undertake studies of very large scope and generate a large amount of data to work with. A number of organizations sponsor ongoing or annual citizen science projects such as the Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count, and information about these projects is usually readily available on their websites and in their offices, for interested individuals.
The idea of enlisting laymen in scientific research is quite sound, from a number of points of view. For researchers, citizen science can greatly expand the scope of a study without being expensive. For example, a bird survey using volunteers can cover all of North America in a matter of weeks when well organized, at the cost of coordinating the organizers and distributing the materials they need. Paying scientists to carry out the same investigation would be very expensive and make the study more difficult to carry out, as the number of people in the field would be limited.
For citizens, citizen science can be fun and sometimes quite interesting. Many volunteers participate in citizen science because they are interested and enthusiastic about the environment and like the idea of being able to help with scientific research. Citizen science also gives them the opportunity to network with other volunteers and scientists in the field. Annual bird surveys, for example, can attract people of all ages who like to get out for a few hours and take notes on what they see.
In addition to involving fieldwork, citizen science can also take place closer to home. Many universities, for example, have bud and leaf tracking programs that invite local gardeners to submit data from their gardens, and ornithologists and wildlife observers can also contribute data from their observations to citizen science projects. Inside the home, distributed computing is a form of citizen science that uses computer idle time to process information, using thousands of computers scattered around the world.
If you’re interested in contributing to a citizen science project, you should start by identifying a topic of interest to you. For example, if you find native plants interesting, contact your local native plant society and ask if you can participate in a survey or identification session. You can also choose to explore something completely new by contacting a nature organization like the Audubon Society or the Nature Conservancy and offering your help as a citizen scientist.
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