myScience: USGS Citizen Science Project Discovery & Public Engagement Web Application

How can the public discover opportunities for participation in USGS scientific research? What citizen science projects are currently active within the USGS? How may PIs increase public engagement in and awareness of their citizen science projects? To address these questions, a web application leveraging existing Community for Data Integration (CDI) and USGS work was created to allow unprecedented public access to USGS citizen science project metadata and highlights of key science outcomes. Such an application enables, for the first time, high-visibility, unified open access to information about projects and practices related to citizen participation in USGS research. The need for such information was identified in AESIR-supported research on citizen science cyber-infrastructure (Holl, 2012). This research also identified the need for innovative tools and resources to increase public engagement in and awareness of existing USGS citizen science projects and to connect and inform bureau scientists about public participation in scientific research. The product, myScience: USGS Citizen Science Project Discovery & Public Engagement Web Application, will directly address these needs and benefit both USGS scientists across all disciplines and geographic regions as well as the public to whom they serve.



Principal Investigator : Sally L Holl, Megan K Hines

Cooperator/Partner : Deanna Eames Terry, John D Gordon, Justin K Robertson, Scott R Horvath, Elizabeth M Colvard, Tim Kern, Sky Bristol



Types of Products to be Generated:

• myScience discovery application
• Database of Citizen Science Project Metadata
• Web-based database management interface

Note: this description is from the FY13 project proposal abstract