1. 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.gov
Constance E. Walker, Senior Science Education
Specialist, NOAO, cwalker@noao.edu
Summer Waters, Water Resource Extension Agent,
University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, Maricopa County,
swaters@cals.arizona.edu
#CitizenScience
2. 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-
3. in Arizona
eBird data for Lucy’s Warbler
sightings, South Central AZ.
November-April, $15, research kit.
4. Running an Effective
Citizen Science Study
Michael K. McBeath
Department 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.
6. 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
7. 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.”
8. 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
9. 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).
10. 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
12. 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 11 Angular
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
0
TimetoCompletion(sec.)
Maze Curvature (Deviation in Feet)
Time as a Function of Curv
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.
15. • 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…
16. Citizen Science and
GLOBE at Night
Connie Walker
National Optical Astronomy Observatory
Tucson, AZ
Sept 10, 2012 1AZ Science Festival
17. 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
18. GLOBE at Night Website
http://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
20. 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.
22. Educational Value
GLOBE 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
23. Projects Done by Students
High school students
with amateur
astronomers from
Norman, Oklahoma
Elementary & middle
school students near
South Bend, IN
24. 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.
Editor's Notes
More than half the world’s population lives in cities.3 out of every 4 people living in cities have never seen the Milky Way galaxy arch across a dark, starry sky.How do you convince them that light pollution is washing out a natural and cultural heritage that has inspired mankind for millenia?LP is affecting more than our right to see a starry night sky.30% of outdoor lighting escapes upwards into space as wasted energy at a cost of a couple of billion dollars each year in the US.Too much light at night disrupts our circadian rhythm, causing sleeping disorders. Aging eyes are affected by glare.The habits and habitats of animals are deeply affected by light pollution (e.g., migrating birds and hatching sea turtles).
More than half the world’s population lives in cities.3 out of every 4 people living in cities have never seen the Milky Way galaxy arch across a dark, starry sky.How do you convince them that light pollution is washing out a natural and cultural heritage that has influence mankind for millenia?In addition, 30% of outdoor lighting escapes upwards into space as wasted energy at a cost of a couple of billion dollars each year in the US.Too much light at night disrupts our circadian rhythm, causing sleeping disorders. Aging eyes are affected by glare.The habits and habitats of animals are deeply affected by light pollution (e.g., migrating birds and hatching sea turtles).And we are quickly losing our right to see a starry night sky.
For instance there is background information on what a magnitude is and how to find Orion, Leo and the Southern Cross (Crux) – the constellations used in the campaign.
Two-thirds of the survey respondents and 81% of their students who participated in the GLOBE at Night citizen-science campaign made changes in their personal use of light or light fixtures in their homes. Changes included changing fixtures, turning off outside lights/reducing light usage overall, changing to more energy efficient lights, utilizing motion sensors to reduce light use, being an advocate and educating others about light usage, becoming involved in policy/talking to officials to make changes and becoming more aware of community lighting. All but one respondent indicated that they believed that engaging students in GLOBE at Night activities increased their understanding of light pollution.
