The SAS Citizen Scientist Observatory Registry

A White Paper by Sheldon Greaves, Ph.D.
First submitted 08 April 2004
Updated 21 August 2006

Summary

I propose that SAS establish a program by which anyone who likes to make and record regular observations of any natural phenomena can apply to have him or herself and their activities designated as a "Citizen Science Observatory."  People who are added to the registry would receive recognition for their work, have a place where they can submit observations, and become part of a larger community of people who are actually doing basic science.

This project has two purposes.  First, to create a community where science enthusiasts can enter their area of interest by observing—something that most people would not consider beyond their capabilities. Second, it would build a collection of useful data to be consulted by both amateur and professional scientists on a range of subjects.

This idea came primarily from Forrest Mims' "Geronimo Creek Observatory" which is an instrument cluster he uses regularly to collect data on the atmosphere.  He then submits this data to various groups and uses it in his own research.  It also gives him a homemade institution that creates credibility, [1] (See my paper "Secrets of Guerrilla Scholarship") and helps motivate him to go out there and take the readings every day.


[Figure 1. Observing tower at Geronimo Creek Observatory.  Photo used by permission.]

A key insight in the development of the current proposed idea was the realization that one can have an "observatory" dedicated to anything; weather, solar radiation, birds or other forms of wildlife, stream monitoring, soil microbes, pollution levels, seismic events, magneto metric readingsÉyou name it.   The essential criterion is that observatories consistently collect data on their chosen subject, and either apply it to an ongoing project, or archive it so that others can use it later.

[Figure 2. A lightning strike.  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration photo.]

Preparation

I propose to "prepare the ground" by first running a series of article in The Citizen Scientist on how one would create their own long-term observing project and become an "observatory."  It could be as simple as making regular observations of activity at a bird feeder, so long as careful notes were taken on a regular, consistent basis and somehow made available to others.  These articles would also explain about government and other agencies that welcome contributions of such data, and how to contact them.  Alternately, we should create our own databases even at this early stage with password-access web pages through which observational data would be submitted. 

Alongside these initial articles, announcements to the Labrats community and other venues frequented by Science Fair participants would help us identify a core group with which to test the program.  Concurrently, a website, training materials, and some basic projects must be set up in order to test the concept from an operational standpoint.

Establishing the Registry

Once the concept had been demonstrated, the next step would be for SAS to create and announce a registry of "Citizen Science Observatories."

Membership in SAS should be mandatory in order to join.  For those wishing to get started, SAS would sell a "starter kit", discounted to members.  Nonmembers who buy the kit would pay extra and receive an SAS membership.  The starter kit would include the following:

The Guide is a critical part of this program.  It needs to explain in lucid, clear, and engaging language how one makes and records observations, why it is an interesting and important thing to do (consider that some parents may have purchased this startup kit for less-than-enthused offspring), and lots of annotated project ideas.  Those who like the idea of setting up their own observatory enough to actually sign up well, upon processing of their registration, receive a second packet containing:

Applications could also be accepted using a faxable .pdf file.  We should assess a modest application fee to help prevent spamming in case some miscreant happens to stumble across our registration page.

The Market

Who would be interested in this?

Creating the proper support for such an initiative would take up some up-front work, consisting largely of materials and web development, possibly setting up SAS as a liaison between our observers and anyone interested in their data.  The simplest solution might be to archive the data on our won, using different kinds of web form templates for collecting data submitted by observers.  Support would also require keeping in touch with our "Observer Corps" to given them the sense that they are part of a larger community of citizen scientists.  Membership support would also be involved with staying in touch by mail and conducting surveys of members to maintain and improve program quality.  I strongly believe we should make an effort to recognize and reward those observers—particularly young observers—who do outstanding work.

[Figure 3.   Amateur odonatologist Denise Greaves in pursuit of dragonflies near Browning Mill Pond, near Exeter, RI.]

Eventually, I envision SAS establishing departments with designated leaders who would coordinate activities among observatories working on similar kinds of subjects, and working to get material germane to those activities highlighted in The Citizen Scientist.

Selling the Hardware

A program like this could prove to be a useful way to sell ready-made kits for doing observations. A program like this could prove to be a useful way to sell ready-made kits for doing observations. Some of Forrest's solar monitoring instruments have kit potential.  No doubt other such products could be sold through SAS for observers who want to get started quickly.

Another significant advantage to the Observatory Registry is its potential to further the development of Labrats, since this is something a motivated young person could do on their own if they work within their abilities.

Costs

Most of the costs associated with setting up this program will be up-front costs.  The development of an attractive and exciting start-up kit is crucial to making this work.  A specially designed web presence is also important, and it needs to be set up in such a way as to integrate with the existing SAS info structure.  I have not yet attempted to cost out these tasks, but with careful management I expect that they could be done for a very reasonable amount.

Here are the main areas where monetary resources are needed:

Materials Development

Mailing Costs

Web site

Support

Salaried Positions

Once the basic materials are established, the ongoing costs would consist of salaries, duplicating and shipping startup kits, technical maintenance, and other membership support costs.

The Web Site

Creating an online center for collecting and disseminating data, while not completely necessary at first will become necessary as the project expands.  Moreover, this represents the most potentially expensive and time-consuming part of the program's initial development.  The challenge is to be able to accept a wide range of data on an equally wide range of subjects.  We can reasonably expect our data to arrive in the form of prose description, digital images, tab-separated spreadsheet files, sound files, and movie files.  Besides the obvious potential problem of storage space (this would almost certainly necessitate getting our own server with many gigabytes of space), there is the matter of creating a robust, and user-friendly system to handle it all.  We should not assume that this will come cheap.

Most solutions should be available "off the shelf," but we cannot be sure of this.  We need to consult with those in the industry who understand problems like these and obtain the best advice we can.

[Figure 4. This website dedicated to tracking observations of phonological phenomena is an excellent example of the way the Observatory Registry web site might function.]

Features

At the very minimum, in addition to the ability to handle different kinds of data, the web site must be configured to accept data from or configure for use in GIS-capable databases.  This will allow us to display and work with data using state-of-the-art techniques.  Basic statistical tools should also be available for generating histograms and doing basic statistical analysis on data compiled.

Conclusion

The Citizen Science Observatory Registry outlined here will give science enthusiasts a way to participate in scientific projects that is simple and will not seem overly intimidating. It is something that can be done by anyone with a modicum of patience, curiosity and persistence.  Further, it can serve to boost SAS membership and help increase science literacy.

Contact Information:

Sheldon Greaves, Ph.D.
1576 Sun Lane
San Jose, CA 95132

sheldong1@aol.com

A forum discussing this project has also been started on the SAS Community web site.  SAS members are invited to stop by and share their thoughts.