Citizen Science: How Ordinary People are Changing the Face of Discovery

by Caren Cooper

Overview

True stories of everyday volunteers participating in scientific research that “may well prompt readers to join the growing community” (Booklist).
 
Think you need a degree in science to contribute to important scientific discoveries? Think again. All around the world, in fields ranging from meteorology to ornithology to public health, millions of everyday people are choosing to participate in the scientific process. Working in cooperation with scientists in pursuit of information, innovation, and discovery, these volunteers are following protocols, collecting and reviewing data, and sharing their observations. They’re our neighbors, in-laws, and coworkers. Their story, along with the story of the social good that can result from citizen science, has largely been untold, until now.
 
Citizen scientists are challenging old notions about who can conduct research, where knowledge can be acquired, and even how solutions to some of our biggest societal problems might emerge. In telling their story, Caren Cooper just might inspire you to rethink your own assumptions about the role that individuals can play in gaining scientific understanding—and putting that understanding to use as a steward of our world.
 
“Engaging.” —Library Journal (starred review)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781468314144
Publisher:	ABRAMS, Inc. (Ignition)
Publication date:	12/20/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	371,371
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Caren Cooper is an associate professor of Forestry and Environmental Resources at North Carolina State University, part of the Chancellor’s Faculty Excellence Program in Leadership in Public Science, and assistant head of the Biodiversity Research Lab at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. She studies bird ecology, conservation, and management through the use of citizen science. She served as an advisor to the public television documentary mini-series The Crowd&The Cloud. She is a blogger at the Public Library of Science (PLOS) and Discover and guest blogger at Scientific American, and she is director of partnerships at SciStarter.com.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Marking the Tide 3

Part 1 Hobbies of Discovery 13

1 Meteorology: NOAA and the Flood 15

2 Ornithology: Bird Is a Verb 33

3 Entomology: Of Monarchs and Men 51

4 Astronomy: The Pull of the Planets 79

Part 2 The Necessity of Leisure 107

5 Biochemistry: Protein Folding Is Magic 109

6 Microbiology: Invisible Worlds Go Public 131

7 Conservation Biology: Taking Stock 155

Part 3 A World Where Everybody Counts 179

8 Marine Biology: Turtles and Nurdles 181

9 Geography: White Picket Fencelines 205

10 Public Health: Patients, No Patience 233

Conclusion: Setting Sail 261

Interviews/Sources 273

Call to Action 277

Acknowledgments 279

Index 283

Editorial Reviews

Cooper’s technically detailed celebration ofcitizensciencemay well prompt readers to join the growing community.”

Booklist

Cooper’s book is filled with wonderful stories of individual champions ofcitizenscienceas well as little-known accounts of major discoveries that were made possible bycitizen science. But best of all, this book makes clear that the age of imperialscienceis done—while somescientistsmay regret the loss of the pedestal, most will find inspiration in this book to try their hand at tapping into the curiosity of the public, a curiosity that is the essence of Homo sapiens.”

Peter Kareiva

Caren Cooper is an academic leader in a worldwide movement to crowd-source environmental justice as well as social justice objectives. Her book addresses many of the basic questions confronting citizen science today: is it real science, are the data trustworthy, and are volunteers as valuable as professionals? (Yes, yes, and yes.) This is a fine guide to understanding the tremendous range and potential of citizen science.”

Mary Ellen Hannibal

Cooper’s book is a grand tour ofcitizenscience, the research areas it touches, the approaches of all people to joinscientificprojects,and the different ways in which technology and people can work together. Told with sensitivity, humour, and plenty of empathy and care about the volunteers and their effort, this is a fantastic introduction tocitizen science.”

Muki Haklay

Cooper doesn't skirt the issues, and reminds us that at its core citizen science is about civic as much as scientific engagement. Citizen Science is a book that tells a powerful story of science in society by weaving together stories of ordinary people contributing to science as extraordinary citizens in the global scientific community.”

Ashley Rose Kelly

In every part ofscience, from mapping the tides to mapping the breast cancer genome, ordinary people have been making extraordinary contributions. Caren Cooper tells their remarkable stories here for the first time. Prepare to be inspired.”

Steven Strogatz

From monarchs to protein structure, from ladybugs to toxic waste, and from breeding birds to galaxies, Cooper weaves amazing tales about thousands of unsung heroes: those citizenswho voluntarily contribute to globalscienceadvancement. Cooper is not only a brilliant scientist in her own right, but also a compelling storyteller. This book is a must-read for both scientist andcitizenalike.”

Meg Lowman

Cooper provides that rarest of things: a hopeful road forward. Cooper’s road is one in whichscienceis democratized. It is a road on which we know more about ourselves and the world around us. It is also a road on which millions, perhaps billions, have the tools necessary to empower themselves. Read this book if you care about the future.”

Rob Dunn

An engaging overview of the movement written with the energy and the enthusiasm of a crusader for the cause.

Deborah Blum - The Washington Post