Rebecca C. Jordan, Joan G. Ehrenfeld, Steven A. Gray, Wesley R. Brooks, David V. Howe, and Cindy E. Hmelo-Silver
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801449116
- eISBN:
- 9780801463952
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801449116.003.0012
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Environmental Studies
This chapter discusses cognitive considerations that need to be taken into account in the development of citizen science projects. It first looks at a research project with combined research and ...
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This chapter discusses cognitive considerations that need to be taken into account in the development of citizen science projects. It first looks at a research project with combined research and educational goals, called Spotting the Weedy Invasives, using it to highlight the potential benefits of using a learning sciences approach in the development of citizen science training and educational programs. It then examines issues related to both data quality and learning gains, including cognitive processes and the potential for cognitive bias. It emphasizes the importance of aligning research goals with attributes of participants and how cognitive biases may affect the quality of citizen science data. The chapter concludes with an assessment of what the project design and results it describes might mean for the design of larger, Internet-based, geographically dispersed citizen science initiatives.Less
This chapter discusses cognitive considerations that need to be taken into account in the development of citizen science projects. It first looks at a research project with combined research and educational goals, called Spotting the Weedy Invasives, using it to highlight the potential benefits of using a learning sciences approach in the development of citizen science training and educational programs. It then examines issues related to both data quality and learning gains, including cognitive processes and the potential for cognitive bias. It emphasizes the importance of aligning research goals with attributes of participants and how cognitive biases may affect the quality of citizen science data. The chapter concludes with an assessment of what the project design and results it describes might mean for the design of larger, Internet-based, geographically dispersed citizen science initiatives.
