citizen science Archives - Science Connected Magazine

Citizen Science is for Lovers this Valentine’s Day!

February 14, 2020February 11, 2020 Science Connectedcitizen science, science projects, scientific research, Valentine’s Day

By Bob Hirshon (@Bob Hirshon) It’s almost Valentine’s Day. Cuddle up with these five projects–and one book–that we love! They are waiting for you with open arms. Xoxo, The SciStarter Team Health eHeart You’re probably science-savvy enough to know that the seat of love is in the brain, not the heart. But do you really want to send a romantic card that says “I (brain) you!” We thought not. So follow your heart to the Health eHeart (get it?) project, where you and your SO can share data that will…

SuperbOwl: Image credit: Alexas_Fotos via Pixabay

Animals Citizen Science SciStarter Blog

Five Ways to Prepare for SuperbOwl Sunday

January 31, 2020January 28, 2020 Science Connectedbirds, citizen science, ornithology, owls

By Bob Hirshon @BobHirshon Sunday, February 2 is the most exciting day of the year for owl-lovers all over the world: SuperbOwl Sunday! This is the day when the ornithologically-inclined brave the elements to admire owls near them, photograph owls and/or, for some reason, stay indoors and watch football. No matter who you’re hooting for this Super Bowl Sunday, you can celebrate SuperbOwls and citizen science. Get started with the projects we’ve spotlighted, below. Cheer for science…like 49ers cheerleader Kelly! Cognitive neuroscientist and San Francisco 49ers Gold Rush Cheerleader Kelly…

Image Credit: Timber Press/Julianna Johnson

Book Reviews Citizen Science SciStarter Blog

Book Review: Field Guide to Citizen Science

January 24, 2020January 23, 2020 Science Connectedbook review, citizen science, citizen science projects, field guide, science projects

By Devon Moriarty @devmoriarty Darlene Cavalier, Catherine Hoffman, and Caren Cooper. The Field Guide to Citizen Science: How You Can Contribute to Scientific Research and Make a Difference, $7.60 Kindle, $11.99 Paperback The Field Guide to Citizen Science is currently available for pre-order. I know you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but in this case, the front of The Field Guide to Citizen Science: How You Can Contribute to Scientific Research and Make a Difference effectively communicates the essence of this book. A simple black, blue, and yellow…

Citizen Science Health SciStarter Blog Technology

Phendo: Understanding Endometriosis

January 17, 2020January 14, 2020 Science Connectedapps, citizen science, disease, endometriosis, medicine

In 2016, Noémie Elhadad and her lab at Columbia University’s Irving Medical Center created the Phendo, or “phenotyping endometriosis,” app, to better understand and identify symptoms of endometriosis. Endometriosis is a painful condition that causes overgrowth of the endometrium, or inner lining of the uterus, such that it grows outside the uterus and into other places in the body. Their goal is to fill in the gaps of knowledge about how individuals experience the disease on a day-to-day basis. The app invites anyone over the age of 13 who has…

Citizen Science Environment SciStarter Blog

Regular People Are Changing How We Monitor Air Quality

January 10, 2020January 8, 2020 Science Connectedair pollution, air quality, citizen science, scistarter

Low cost, high impact: How access to sensors is changing everything in air quality research. Air quality: It’s about us The ways we hear about air pollution can make us think it’s not about us. Large industrial stacks, smoky skies, and cities far away — filled with people we’ve never met, in places we don’t expect to be. Articles on the front pages of major news outlets describe air pollution in India, China, and Bangladesh, and they don’t always make the connection with people like me who live in the…

Photo 5726794, (c) Sean Blaney, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). This observation on iNaturalist is of a species tracked by the Northeast Alpine Flower Watch project.

Biodiversity Citizen Science Ecology SciStarter Blog

Explore Biodiversity with iNaturalist

October 18, 2019October 15, 2019 Science Connectedbiodiversity, citizen science, crowd sourcing, nature

Do you want to know more about the world around you? You can get outside and explore biodiversity and the natural environment with iNaturalist! iNaturalist allows anyone, anywhere to contribute to a global record of biodiversity by uploading pictures of plants and animals with their smartphone or computer. In a new podcast episode (listen below!), co-host Justin Schell talks with Dr. Carrie Seltzer, the Stakeholder Engagement Strategist for iNaturalist, and with representatives and a volunteer from the Appalachian Mountain club. Tip: add your iNaturalist username to your SciStarter dashboard, and…

Citizen Science SciStarter Blog

Smart Science Project Recommendations

October 4, 2019October 1, 2019 Science ConnectedAI, artificial intelligence, citizen science, CitSci Research, science projects, scistarter

By Caroline Nickerson (@CHNickerson) Portions of this 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 citizen science projects listed on SciStarter, a main challenge can be finding the right project for you, one that really suits your needs and your interests. After meeting at a workshop on the Open Science of Learning hosting by CRI, Kobi Gal, a leading expert in human-centered artificial intelligence, and Darlene Cavalier, the founder…

Citizen Science SciStarter Blog

Citizen Science in Australia: Spotlight on Michelle Neil

September 27, 2019September 25, 2019 Science ConnectedAustralia, citizen science, CSA, scurvy, space

By Caroline Nickerson (@CHNickerson) As the interviewer and the author of this Citizen Science Connected Blog 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 for a wide-ranging discussion of how she got into citizen science, citizen science in Australia, and her future plans for this work. Michelle wrote about her experience…

Blogs Citizen Science SciStarter Blog

Rhetoric and Citizen Science in the Digital Age

September 13, 2019September 13, 2019 Science Connectedbook reviews, citizen science

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 process. This ranges from the experience of being involved in a project as a citizen scientist to implementing project design and communicating results as a practitioner. James Wynn, in his 2017 book, Citizen Science in the…