Citizen science ‒ an action guide on how you can contribute
It might surprise you to know that you don’t need a PhD to add to scientific knowledge. You can participate from your computer, tablet, or backyard, wherever you are in the world.
It’s more challenging than ever to discern scientific fact from fiction. This topic got me wondering how scientists generate said facts. They don’t do it alone. Working together, they solve tough scientific problems and advance research. They also review each other’s work before they publish their findings, in a process called peer review.
But did you know that the general public without a PhD or MD can ‒ and does ‒ contribute in ways as diverse as solving puzzles to counting wildlife to exploring space?
The practice where the general public helps professionals by gathering information, crunching data, or collaborating on ideas is coined ‘citizen science’, sometimes called community science. Citizen science is often a part of ‘open science’ programs, which aim to involve society more in research.
This is not a new concept. In the 19th century, volunteers submitted daily weather reports to scientist Joseph Henry via telegraph, in what was a precursor to the US National Weather Service. And since 1900 the National Audubon Society has sponsored an annual bird count, fed by 2000 groups across the US and Canada. In the past century citizen science has mushroomed around the world as scientists, government agencies, and nonprofits, as well as the public itself, have discovered its value.
How to help advance medicine from your happy place
There are many opportunities to get involved from your couch, a cozy coffee shop, or other favorite haunt with WiFi access. If you like playing games, you can help scientists unravel a mystery that could lead to a new medical treatment. It turns out that people outperform algorithms when it comes to scientific problems that take loads of computing power.
A 2010 success story cemented the problem-solving acumen of the masses. More than 57 000 online gamers pooled their abilities to solve the 3D structure of an HIV-like protein crucial to the virus’ ability to replicate. The puzzle was cracked in a record three weeks and led researchers to identify ways to block the protein’s action. The Foldit game is still active today, with an ever-expanding cache of puzzles. Also recruiting is eteRNA, which challenges players to find the most stable RNA structure for design of a COVID-19 vaccine.
How to help protect planet Earth by simply being outdoors
Environmental scientists can’t be everywhere at once. That’s one reason they count on the public to be their eyes and ears.
From your own backyard you can observe the brightness of the night sky. Data is used to monitor levels of light pollution around the world. The Globe at Night program is looking for volunteer support to reach its goal of 15 000 data points in 2020.
Venturing farther from home, you can document and share your observations about flora and fauna using the iNaturalist app. Submissions are fed into existing databases, such as Global Biodiversity Information Facility’s, which compiles global data on biodiversity from more than 1.6 billion records.
How to help discover the next frontier
If your interests go beyond the confines of the spinning blue ball, you can expand out into space.
The decade-old Galaxy Zoo app exploits another human skill, the knack for recognizing patterns. Users look at telescope images of distant galaxies and classify them by their shapes. This work informs an understanding of how galaxies formed.
If you have a telescope and the will, you can eye space through a lens, as did two amateur astronomers who detected an asteroid and exoplanet. Their submissions are now stored in a scientific database where astronomers from around the globe can access them.
From all these examples, it’s clear that citizens play an important role in growing the base of scientific knowledge. If you’re ready to get started, you can check out SciStarter, a collection of more than 1600 projects, events, and tools for citizen scientists.
Resources
Chari R, Matthews LJ, Blumenthal MS, Edelman FE, Jones T. Peer review. The promise of community citizen science. RAND Corporation. 2017. doi: https://doi.org/10.7249/PE256. https://www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PE256.html
Conroy G. How to run a successful citizen science project. Nature. https://www.natureindex.com/news-blog/how-to-run-successful-citizen-science-project. Last updated August 9, 2019. Accessed June 16, 2020.
Tachibana C. Community science: not just a hobby. Science. https://www.sciencemag.org/features/2019/08/community-science-not-just-hobby. Last updated August 30, 2019. Accessed June 16, 2020.
McLaughlin J, Benforado J, and Liu SB. Report to Congress describes the breadth and scope of Federal crowdsourcing and citizen science. 2019. https://www.citizenscience.gov/2019/06/18/report-to-congress-2019/#. Last updated June 18, 2019. Accessed June 16, 2020.
