CITIZEN SCIENCE

Citizen Science There are many great research projects already using willing participants, and modern technology to harness the help of citizen scientists like you. It is a great way for people to learn more about a subject that they are interested in while helping researchers gather important information.

Explore the following resources to learn more about Citizen Science:

Read the following article from the Kaplan Library. A copy of this article is in Doc Sharing as well: Hand, E. (2010). Citizen science: People power. Nature, 466 (7307). 685. Source: NASA. (n.d.). For citizen scientists. Retrieved from http://science.nasa.gov/citizen-scientists/ Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (n.d.). Be a citizen scientist. Retrieved from http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/brochures/Citizen_Scientist.pdf Source: United States Geologic Survey. (2012). Join citizens and scientists tracking the pulse of our planet. Retrieved from http://www.usgs.gov/blogs/features/usgs_top_story/join-citizens-and-scientists-tracking-the-pulse-of-our-planet/ Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). Composting for facilities basics. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/composting/basic.htm You can also do some research on your own to find other citizen science projects that are out there.

In your posts this unit answer the following questions:

What is “citizen science”? What is the benefit of using citizens to help out with scientific research in this way? What citizen science program(s) interests you the most? Please provide a specific link and information about your chosen citizen science program. Would you be interested in giving any of the citizen science programs a try? Why, or why not?