Citizen Science and Biotechnology Breaking New Ground: Twitter Chat on November 12

All for Science, Science for All Guest post by Lauren Ramilo @dimisitque Biotechnology has advanced rapidly in the past decade. New discoveries and technological advances have made it easier to manipulate living organisms to make new antibiotics or improve agricultural production. The equipment and materials needed for rigorous biological engineering are more affordable than ever, … Read more “Citizen Science and Biotechnology Breaking New Ground: Twitter Chat on November 12”

Categories: Biology, Citizen Science, CitSci Research, Do-It-Yourself, Health, Science Practices

NC State Citizen Science Campus: 2020 Citizen Science & Higher Education Symposium

On September 12, the NC State Citizen Science Campus hosted the 2020 Citizen Science & Higher Education Symposium. Learn more about the NC State Citizen Science Campus. The event explored questions such as: can citizen science improve higher education? Can higher education improve citizen science? What roles can community colleges, private colleges, land-grant universities, historically … Read more “NC State Citizen Science Campus: 2020 Citizen Science & Higher Education Symposium”

Categories: CitSci Research, Events

AI-Powered, Smart Project Recommendations on SciStarter

Portions of this blog post are excerpted from the accompanying podcast episode and from notes shared between the SciStarter team and Kobi Gal’s research team. Smart Project Recommendations on SciStarter With thousands of projects listed on SciStarter, a main challenge can be finding the right project, one that really suits your needs and your interests. … Read more “AI-Powered, Smart Project Recommendations on SciStarter”

Categories: Citizen Science, CitSci Research, SciStarter News

Citizen Science in Australia: Spotlight on Michelle Neil

As the interviewer and the author of this post, I’ll reveal my bias now: meeting Michelle Neil, the secretary and social media moderator of the Australian Citizen Science Association, was a highlight of the Citizen Science Association’s conference for me. I’m an unabashed Michelle fan. She sat down with me this past March in Raleigh … Read more “Citizen Science in Australia: Spotlight on Michelle Neil”

Categories: Citizen Science, CitSci Research, Ecology & Environment, Events

Rhetoric and Citizen Science in a Digital World

Wynn, James. Citizen Science in the Digital Age: Rhetoric, Science, and Public Engagement. The University of Alabama Press, 2017. 224 pages. Paperback $US 24.95. Citizen scientists have repeatedly faced resistance from skeptics questioning their experience, training, and ability, but recent technological advances have brought citizen science into the digital age, transforming many aspects of the … Read more “Rhetoric and Citizen Science in a Digital World”

Categories: Book Review, Citizen Science, CitSci Research

citizen science ocean sanctuaries

Diving into Citizen Science: The Origins of Ocean Sanctuaries

Since 2000, I’ve been an avid scuba diver in Southern California. When the Yukon, a 366 ft. long Canadian warship, sunk off the coast of San Diego in July of 2000, it became an artificial reef for divers to explore, piquing my interest in and igniting a lifelong passion for diving. In late 2006, my … Read more “Diving into Citizen Science: The Origins of Ocean Sanctuaries”

Categories: Citizen Science, CitSci Research, Ocean & Water

Citizen Science Projects

Uncovering Connections across Citizen Science Projects: A Social Network Analysis

Sara Futch, a graduate student at North Carolina State University, won Best Overall Poster at the Citizen Science Association Conference 2019 for her poster, “Uncovering Connections across Citizen Science Projects: A Social Network Analysis.” Conference attendees selected Sara’s poster via in-person votes during the poster session. Here’s more from Sara about her research: “My name … Read more “Uncovering Connections across Citizen Science Projects: A Social Network Analysis”

Categories: Citizen Science Conference, CitSci Research, SciStarter News

Citizen Science

Sound Justice: Citizen Science, Noise, and the Quest for Equity

At the start of World War I, thousands of soldiers were coming down with a baffling condition: they became blind, deaf, lost their memory, or developed uncontrollable shaking despite no obvious physical injury. Even stranger, this malady could be triggered by memories of the war even after the fighting had ended. At the time, doctors … Read more “Sound Justice: Citizen Science, Noise, and the Quest for Equity”

Categories: Citizen Science, CitSci Research, Project Profile

Environmental Citizen Science

Book Review: Building a Foundation In Environmental Citizen Science

Dickinson, Janis L. & Bonney, Rick. (eds). Citizen Science: Public Participation in Environmental Research. Cornell University Press, 2012. 279 pages. Paperback $US 29.95. Though it was published in 2012, Citizen Science: Public Participation in Environmental Research is relevant to our present moment. As discussions of environmental research increase in frequency and urgency, institutions at all levels will … Read more “Book Review: Building a Foundation In Environmental Citizen Science”

Categories: Book Review, Citizen Science, CitSci Research, Environment

Magazine cover

Hoping for optimality or designing for inclusion: Persistence, learning, and the social network of citizen science

A new article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) analyzes the Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team (COASST), a hands-on citizen science project, in the context of a meta-analysis of 54 other projects to “quantitatively explore” citizen science data. The article’s findings suggest that “hands-on citizen … Read more “Hoping for optimality or designing for inclusion: Persistence, learning, and the social network of citizen science”

Categories: Citizen Science, CitSci Research