This document summarizes a training day on citizen science. It discusses building community among volunteers by providing a job to do, data to analyze, and a discussion forum. It emphasizes moderating the forum to resolve conflicts and keep discussions civil. The document also addresses vulnerabilities volunteers may have and provides tips on improving inclusiveness through accommodations, praise, and addressing problems sensitively. Case studies demonstrate how to handle arguments in forums or lack of communication between volunteers and scientists. The key message is that volunteers should feel appreciated and have a place to discuss their work.

1. Environmental Citizen Science Training Day
Working with Citizen Scientists
Alice Sheppard: UCL
Long term Citizen Science volunteer –
forum moderator, speaker, writer and galaxy obsessor
A volunteer’s perspective
Community building
Problem solving

2. A volunteer’s perspective
2007: galaxyzoo.org
Public invited to classify
900,000 galaxies from robotic telescope
Sloan Digital Sky Survey
Photo: Patrick Galume

4. www.galaxyzooforum.org

5. The discussion forum became a friendly, helpful
community …..
Every newcomer greeted:
“Welcome to the zoo”
Everyone had a different expertise so taught
others:
• practical astronomy
• astrophysics – how to read papers, spectra
• technical support – how to use the forum
• programming – how to search the database

6. My job as moderator:
• remove swearing and spam
• ban malicious users; resolve conflicts
• keep the forum organised
• provide technical support
• organise meet-ups
• act as media contact; arrange interviews
• analyse and write up volunteers’ discoveries

8. Some projects were
started by astronomers
And others by
volunteers

9. A new way of looking at science
“But what is the ANSWER?”
There is no answer in the back of a textbook.
We write the textbook – and it’s a living textbook
that we change all the time!

10. Community building
Citizen scientists need three things:
(1) A job to do
(2) Data to find or look for
(3) A place to talk
All these need to be obvious and findable

11. Community building: Alice’s Tips
(3) A place to talk: Provide break time or a discussion
forum!
Divide the forum into areas such as these – move
threads in the wrong place, explain why:
• Welcome and rules
• Help (data analysis; technical support)
• Project related science
• Dedicated place for project related questions
• General science
• News/blogs/regular features, “Story of the Week”
• Friendly chat
• ….and encourage bottom-up research to take place.

12. Community building: Alice’s Tips
• Time & Effort – dedicated moderator/s
• Have guidelines – but emphasise impacts, not rules
• Keep updating FAQ & tutorials – encourage volunteers to
write these
• Have regular news updates
• Interaction often works better than instructions
• Keep it super-civilised
• Informal area, games etc – encourage friendships
• Praise, highlight & showcase efforts – invite volunteers to
blog
• Get your “hard core” on your side to set the tone
• Be grateful!

13. Volunteers’ vulnerabilities
A citizen scientist is alone in a way we academics are not.
Practical:
• No access to equipment / colleagues
• May live far away
• May speak a different language
Financial:
• Will not get expenses paid
• May be struggling financially / lack money for equipment
Educational:
• May have wanted to be a scientist, but e.g. failed exams
• May be missing education / knowledge
• May be unaware of this – “unknown unknowns” etc.
• May be aware and thus unhappy / lack confidence

14. Volunteers’ vulnerabilities
Social / emotional:
• May have always been “the loner”/ “the geek”
• This may be their first intellectual “home”
• If have lots of free time – why?
• Health issues (physical / mental)
• Unemployment
• May struggle to fit citizen science in with other demands
• May find peace through citizen science
• May find this is their first real science education – may
become obsessed / grieve past frustrations
• Family / friends / colleagues may not be supportive of
citizen science
• Learning difficulties / autism

15. Financial / practical / educational:
• Design: Bear in mind ease of interface, sight
problems, bandwidth etc. Beta-test.
• Source or invite translations
• Seek and post good information websites
• Write good information and tutorials /
encourage volunteers to write for each other
• Livetweet / blog conferences
• Hold a virtual conference!
• If grant money available, invite citizen scientists
to conferences / seek out local ones; encourage
to blog
Some tips to improve things

16. Social/emotional:
• In a friendly environment, volunteers will support each
other
• Treat each contribution as valuable
• Make clear absences / reductions in work are OK
• Praise in public; address problems in private
• Do not bow to pressure to relax rules – public
“venting” not always a good idea
• Limit your responses to persistent / angry private
messages
• Address public discontent ASAP – never ignore until
someone “throws a tantrum”!
• Send a supportive message to any targets of aggression
• Don’t worry – you can’t be perfect!
Some tips to improve things

17. Alice’s mum’s tip:
Try a citizen science project for yourself,
anonymously, in an area you don’t know.
(Volunteers have brilliant ideas.)

18. Problem Solving
Choose a Case Study at random
Consider or discuss
underlying problems and good responses
You have 5 minutes, then we will all discuss briefly
Alice will e-mail round her solutions
(yours might be different)

19. Case Study A

20. Case Study A
• More arguments because longer! Not a problem.
• Do not delete an area that forms friendships
• Assess forum guidelines – Discourage reports to
moderator for minor issues
• Get community on your side!
• Decide as a team who gets the Report emails
• Professor Phosphorus does not understand the
community:
• Ask (diplomatically) if still wants to moderate
• Explain benefits of chat area
• State what solution you’ll choose and why

21. Case Study B

22. Case Study B
• Choose purpose of forum: General science?
Project science? Accurate medical info?
• Guideline: No medical advice (See a doctor)
• Are these volunteers contributing to project?
• Foxglove = either crusader or salesman. Unlikely
to negotiate. Either follows rules or leaves.
• Grape Hyacinth = Create own thread; do not
interrupt others’.
• Suggest other more suitable forums for these.
• Ensure other volunteers also in line with
guidelines

23. Case Study C

24. Case Study C
General problem: Lack of communication and
understanding
• Quantum’s day job colleagues may have bad
ethics
• She and Singularity not acknowledged
• Allow time to cool and process emotions
• Talk to Singularity
• Invite both to blog about methodology. All not
lost – they have much to offer other volunteers
• Dr Neptunium needs to meet volunteers and
appreciate their different culture

25. The words of another citizen science
practitioner …..

26. Don’t worry …. You can’t do everything.
Plan for being unable to plan …. Your volunteers
will teach you best!
Thank you!
Contact me at a.sheppard@ucl.ac.uk