Abstract The field of developmental science is increasingly interested in conducting research that is more representative, equitable, inclusive and generalizable. One way to achieve these aims is to conduct research that positions communities as key collaborators and central contributors to our scientific inquiries. These principles are evident in community science approaches like community‐based participatory research (CBPR) and participatory action research (PAR). We argue that CBPR and PAR can be implemented by developmental scientists. Here, we describe two initiatives that utilized CBPR and PAR. The first initiative is Playful Learning Landscapes (PLL). PLL embeds research from the learning sciences into public spaces to offer playful learning opportunities for children and families, and community science practices are leveraged throughout the process. The second initiative is the Galápagos Education and Research Alliance (GERA). GERA harnesses the tools of community science by working directly with communities in the fragile environment of Galápagos to gather data about ecosystem health and build community‐based plans for climate change adaptation. Together, these two initiatives offer rich examples of how CBPR and PAR principles engender active participation from the community throughout the design and evaluation of a research project. We discuss the opportunities and challenges of using community‐centred approaches. image
more »
« less
The Weather–Climate Schism
Abstract The atmospheric science community includes both weather and climate scientists. These two groups interact much less than they should, particularly in the United States. The schism is widespread and has persisted for 50 years or more. It is found in academic departments, laboratories, professional societies, and even funding agencies. Mending the schism would promote better, faster science. We sketch the history of the schism and suggest ways to make our community whole.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 2005137
- PAR ID:
- 10535448
- Publisher / Repository:
- American Meteorological Society
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
- Volume:
- 105
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 0003-0007
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- E300 to E305
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- weather climate
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
Abstract Community science programs enable the collection of large amounts of important data and enhance the appreciation of science among members of the public. However, there are challenges in the establishment of successful community science programs.We report the challenges associated with the recent establishment of a community science program to monitor rare plants in the geographically diverse southern Illinois, USA region.Over the first 3 years, our program has been successful in the collection of over 250 monitoring records for rare species through the recruitment of a group of passionate volunteers. However, our volunteers are predominantly middle‐income, college educated, white females who are not representative of the population at large of the region. We propose a recruitment strategy to broaden the diversity of our volunteers by better engaging community members who are not typically involved with plant monitoring but are interested in hiking, walking in natural areas, gardening, and restoration activities, and others who would like the opportunity to collaborate with scientists and researchers in addressing an environmental issue.Practical implication: Community science plant monitoring programs face challenges in recruitment, retention, remoteness of field sites and data quality. Addressing these challenges through targeted recruitment strategies aimed at reducing structural and cultural barriers to participation, along with frequent program assessment, is necessary to enhance the success of these programs.more » « less
-
ABSTRACT Community or volunteer participation in research has the potential to significantly help mobilize the wealth of biodiversity and functional ecological data housed in natural history collections. Many such projects recruit community scientists to transcribe specimen label data from images; a next step is to task community scientists with conducting straightforward morphological measurements (e.g., body size) from specimen images. We investigated whether community science could be an effective approach to generating significant body size datasets from specimen images generated by museum digitization initiatives. Using the community science platform Notes from Nature, we engaged community scientists in a specimen measurement task to estimate body size (i.e., intertegular distance) from images of bee specimens. Community scientists showed high engagement and completion of this task, with each user measuring 43.6 specimens on average and self‐reporting successful measurement of 98.0% of the images. Community scientist measurements were significantly larger than measurements conducted by trained researchers, though the average measurement error was only 2.3%. These results suggest that community science participation could be an effective approach for bee body size measurement, for descriptive studies or for research questions where this degree of expected error is deemed acceptable. For larger‐bodied organisms (e.g., vertebrates), where modest measurement errors represent a smaller proportion of body size, community science approaches may be particularly effective. Methods we present here may serve as a blueprint for future projects aimed at engaging the public in biodiversity and collections‐based research efforts.more » « less
-
Wysession, Michael; Grimm, Nancy; Peterson, Bill; Hofmann, Eileen; Zhang, Renyi; Illangasekare, Tissa (Ed.)Abstract In 2023, the first Polar Postdoc Leadership Workshop convened to discuss present and future polar science issues and to develop leadership skills. The workshop discussions fostered a collective commitment to inclusive leadership within the polar science community among all participants. Here, we outline challenges encountered by underrepresented groups in polar sciences, while also noting that progress has been made to improve inclusivity in the field. Further, we highlight the inclusive leadership principles identified by workshop participants to bring to the polar community as we transition into leadership roles. Finally, insights and practical knowledge we gained from the workshop are shared, aiming to inform the community of our commitment to inclusive leadership and encourage the polar community to join us in pursuing action toward our shared vision for a more welcoming polar science future.more » « less
-
Godo, Olav Rune (Ed.)Abstract Science Research on Commercial Ships (Science RoCS) is a grassroots multi-institution group of scientists, engineers, data managers, and administrators seeking to further research opportunities by equipping commercial vessels with suites of maritime appropriate scientific sensors operated autonomously on regular ship routes with minimal crew intervention. Science RoCS aims to foster cooperation between the shipping industry and scientific community at a level that will be transformative for societally relevant ocean science, promote cross-disciplinary ocean science through simultaneous observation of the air/sea interface and water column, and spur a technological revolution in observational oceanography by developing new turnkey, maritime-industry-appropriate scientific equipment whose data streams can be used to stimulate innovations in oceanic (physical, chemical, and biological) understanding and forecasting. We envision a future where scientific data collection on commercial ships is the new industry standard, providing repeat measurements in undersampled, remote regions, on scales not otherwise accessible to the scientific community.more » « less
An official website of the United States government

