Term
Spring 2020
Capstone
Capstone Project
Degree Name
MAED: NSEE
Facilitator(s)
Trish Harvey
Content Expert
Sarah Weaver
Abstract
Citizen science is a growing field of research that relies on public participation for successfully collecting and processing data in fields of ecology, astronomy and sociology. Citizen science has potential to connect diverse communities with science literacy, but historically has only reached a small portion of the population already invested in scientific research. Many citizen science projects fail to launch within the first year from researcher expectations not meeting volunteer expectations. Researchers face the same common pitfalls that others before them have with few stories sharing how success was achieved. A three day workshop was developed to explore the relationship between researchers and volunteers, and create an open dialogue to better prepare researchers for success. The workshop prepares researchers to have their projects interpreted by the public, and pursues strategies for engaging volunteers. By uncovering motivations between researchers and volunteers, researchers will be better prepared to reach out and connect to volunteers in a meaningful way through education. Since citizen science is moving towards simplified tasks with less background knowledge required for participation, opportunities to connect new communities into science go overlooked.
Keywords
Adult Education, Leadership, Motivation, Science
Recommended Citation
Chmura, Michelle, "Developing a Framework for Citizen Science: Preparing Researchers for Success" (2020). School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects. 474.
https://digitalcommons.hamline.edu/hse_cp/474
dc_type
text
dc_publisher
DigitalCommons@Hamline
dc_format
application/pdf
dc_source
School of Education Student Capstone Projects