How to Run an Effective Citizen Science Activity

Eileen Kane, Communications Director, Desert Rivers Audubon,Eileen.Kane@DesertRiversAudubon.org

Mike McBeath, Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, m.m@asu.edu

Robert McCord, Arizona Museum of Natural History, Robert.McCord@mesaaz.gov

Eric M. Proctor, Wildlife Education Coordinator, Arizona Game and Fish Department ,

EProctor@azgfd.govConstance E. Walker, Senior Science Education

Specialist, NOAO, cwalker@noao.eduSummer Waters, Water Resource Extension Agent,

University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, Maricopa County,swaters@cals.arizona.edu

#CitizenScience

Citizen Science: “The systematic collection and analysis of data; development of technology; testing of natural phenomena; and the dissemination of these activities by researchers on a primarily avocational basis,“ or "public participation in scientific research.“ OpenScientist.org

OwlWatch volunteers from Desert Rivers Audubon monitor the artificial urban burrowing owl habitat installation at Zanjero Park, Gilbert. Christmas Bird

Count, December 14, 2012-

January 5, 2013

in Arizona

eBird data for Lucy’s Warbler sightings, South Central AZ.

November-April, $15, research kit.

Running an Effective

Citizen Science Study

Michael K. McBeathDepartment of Psychology and adjunct in

Neuroscience / Kinesiology / Electrical Engineering / Arts, Media, and Engineering

Mike erroneously

assumes that doing a

skateboarding study

will make people

think that he’s cool.

Popular Misconceptions of How Science Works

Best Practices of Science Studies at Public Events

1. Keep it simple, only test simple, straight hypotheses

2. Pick an interesting topic or no one will help facilitate

3. Get permission from all institutions and participants (IRB & consent)

4. Don’t compromise scientific integrity, but otherwise “go with the flow”

5. Be ethical, the reputations of you, the institutions, and science are at stake

Definition of Science:Study of the lawful behavior of natural phenomena

Strong scientific research requires the following (OPTIC):

Observation

Prediction

Testing

Interpretation

Communication

Science typically requires a Control Comparison

“There are three types of people in the world,

those that can count and those that can’t.”

Kissers favor leaning right

Right-Handers and Americans Favor Heading Right

Güntürkün, O. (2003). Adult persistence of

head turning asymmetry, Nature, 421, 711.

Scharine, A.A. & McBeath. M.K. (2002). Right handers and Americans

favor turning to the right. Human Factors, 44(1), 248-256.

Walk down aisle and

indicate color of sticky

note hidden at the end.

Testing Kids at the

Renaissance Fair

Does pre-swinging a weighted baseball bat increase bat speed at the plate?

Collecting data at the SciTech/Scottsdale

2012 Science of Baseball Festival(Richard Hinrichs and Michael McBeath)

1. Volunteer subjects overwhelmingly believed they

swung faster following practice with weighted bats.

2. Speedgun results indicated reliably slower initial

swings following weighted bat practice (several mph).

Best Practices of Science Studies at Public Events

1. Keep it simple, only test simple, straight hypotheses

2. Pick an interesting topic or no one will help facilitate

3. Get permission from all institutions and participants (IRB & consent)

4. Don’t compromise scientific integrity, but otherwise “go with the flow”

5. Be ethical, the reputations of you, the institutions, and science are at stake

START

FINISH

0

20

40

60

80

Class Survey

SkateboardSurvey

SkateboardBehavior

Random

Chance

27%

61%

76%

Class

Survey

Skateboard

Survey

Skateboard

Behavior

Percent Choosing Correct Route

Which route is faster, red or blue?

Skateboarder Physics Study

Route Histograms(With children’s maze scaled to match the adult size)

Maze

Start

Maze

Exit

Race

End-Line

1’

3’

5’

7’

-1’

-3’

-5’-7’

8’

2’

Straight

Route

Mean

Route

Adults

Children 11Angular

Deviation

These extreme cases exhibit

over 50 Angular Deviation

R2 = 0.2171

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

01234567

Series1

-5 -3 -1 1 3 52 7

16

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

0Tim

e t

o C

om

ple

tio

n (

se

c.)

Maze Curvature (Deviation in Feet)

Time as a Function of Curvature

Time minima occurs

at curvature 2.1’

(15.0 )

The optimum curvature for minimizing

task time occurs near the average

curvature preference

(Best quadratic fit for task time vs.

curvature, averaging left and right maze trials)

R2 = 0.297

McBeath, Brimhall, Miller, &

Holloway (2010). Journal of

Vision, 10(7): 1021.

Difficulty Gleaning Much Without a Comparison Condition

Dr. McBeath – Certified Mad Scientist

• Allow for different levels of participation by a wide variety of audiences.

• Grab people’s interest (plus no cost; require minimal time).

• Be something people can feel a part of – contributing value to a larger database.

• Be well-structured; easy to use, web-based to reach large audiences.

• Provide feedback on contributed measurements (e.g, map of world that’s easily accessible).

• Be available to multiple venues (formal & informal) & amenable to different types of learners.

• Be evaluated regularly to know what works and what does not.

A Successful Citizen Science Campaign Must…

Citizen Science and

GLOBE at Night

Connie Walker

National Optical Astronomy ObservatoryTucson, AZ

Sept 10, 2012 1AZ Science Festival

GLOBE at Night Campaign• Citizen-scientists record the brightness of the night sky; online

• Grown to five 10-day campaigns/yr: Jan.-May 2013 (no Moon)

• 2012: 16,850 measurements; 83,000 in 7 yrs

• 2012: 92 countries participated; 115 different countries total

• 2012: 40% USA; 25% Europe; 35% other

• 55% have limiting magnitude 3 or 4 in 2012; trend getting brighter

GLOBE at Night Websitehttp://www.globeatnight.org

• 5 step citizen science program –simple to participate

• Background information on key concepts

• Interactive games

• Fun quizzes to check proficiency

• Teacher and Family Guides in 16 different languages

• Postcards, flyers en español también!

• Report page turn-key: web app

• Map page with data in various formats

• Mapping tool: map app

• Facebook, Twitter, audio podcasts

• Kits, scaffolded lesson plans

Dark Skies Education Workshops, Classroom and Evening Sessions, and Kit

Overview of Survey Results from

the GLOBE at Night Campaign

• Two-thirds of the educators and 81% of

their students made changes in their

personal use of light and fixtures in their

homes since participating in the GLOBE at

Night citizen-science campaign.

• Changes included…..

• All but one respondent indicated that

engaging students in GLOBE at Night

increased their understanding of light

pollution.

Simple Report Form

Cloudiness

Tablet/PadCell

PhoneDesktop/

Laptop

Measurements

• are downloadable as datasets in various formats

• can be examined online via Google Earth or other tools

• used as the basis of research in a classroom or science fair

project or even to inform the development of public policy

Educational ValueGLOBE at Night Data

With the downloadable data sets,

• Compare data over time

• Compare to population density

• Compare with photography or spectroscopy

• Use in a lighting survey

• Search for dark sky oases

• Monitor ordinance compliance

• Study effects of light pollution on

– human health, animals or plants

– safety, security, energy consumption, cost Tucson, Arizona

Projects Done by Students

High school students with amateur astronomers from Norman, Oklahoma

Elementary & middle school students near South Bend, IN

GLOBE at Night 2013

During the Arizona SciTech Festival, Arizona towns will be challenged to compete

in the GLOBE at Night campaign using the “adopt-a-street” method. The Arizona

town with the most measurements gets a star party from GLOBE at Night staff.