Sep 22, 2015

Citizen Science Resources

By Charmel Menzel

* Updated May 2021 *

Data is critical. It drives decisions. It drives science. It drives us forward. To get the robust data sets needed, researchers increasingly look to citizens for contributions. With the prevalence of tablets and mobile devices, people across the globe can act as observers collecting information for important projects that expand scientific understanding. This site provides resources to help you get started with creating applications for citizen science projects, analyzing data and communicating results. Technologies are divided into several usage patterns: citizen engagement and open data, field data collection and quality control, project status; and communicating results.

App for Citizen Engagement and Data Sharing

ArcGIS Hub/Open Data – two way engagement to connect with citizens.

Featured ArcGIS Hub App – Field Museum Monarch Community Science Project helps researchers understand how successful milkweed plants in cities and towns are at providing habitat for monarch caterpillars. Data is submitted by volunteers using ArcGIS Survey123.

Apps for Field Data Collection and Quality Control

ArcGIS Survey123 – easily create forms for data collection via web browser or as a native mobile app even when disconnected from the internet. Get Started with ArcGIS Survey123 free lessons.

Featured ArcGIS Survey123 Arizona Water Watch (AZWW) Mobile App citizen science app to protect Arizona’s waterbodies. Created by Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ). Read more about this app in this article Using GIS to Bring Citizens and Scientists Together by Monica Pratt, ArcUser Editor (ArcUser, Spring 2018) and this Arizona Department of Environmental Quality press release: Innovative App Helps Citizen Scientists Protect Arizona Water Quality. See how it works!

ArcGIS QuickCapture – native app to quickly record field observations while standing or in a moving vehicle. Read how King County, Washington supports the control of invasive plants with the ArcGIS QuickCapture app. Esri Case Study, 2019

Community Science ArcGIS Solution – configure ArcGIS Online web application template that allows members of the public to report sightings of one or more species in a web browser on their tablet, laptop or smart phone.

ArcGIS AppStudio Quick Report – create a citizen engagement native app that allows users to capture an observation and submit it to an online service.

Wildlife Photo Survey – provide a simple to use application for volunteers or the general public to review captured images of wildlife.

Apps to Communicate, Visualize and Share Citizen Science Data:

ArcGIS StoryMaps communicate & visualize results.

Featured Citizen Science ArcGIS StoryMap – Citizen Science in Shifting Sands Sea Grant volunteers in three states track our changing costs by Tim Briggs, New Hampshire Sea Grant, April 27, 2020

Additional Example Citizen Science Projects

Map our Trees Jones Creek, GA – ArcGIS Hub site with picture collection and data access.
The Great Global Cleanup – EarthDay.org. Register and find an event.
Boise Forest Coalition Monitoring and Citizen Science with USFS
Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (ARC) Garden Dragon Watch U.K. using ArcGIS Survey123
Striped Bass Cooperative Angler Logbook– New York Department of Environmental Conservation using ArcGIS Survey123
Paradise Mapped: Open Reef Returns to Belize – Citizen Science GIS Organization, University of Central Florida
Chesapeake Conservancy Conservation Innovation Center Geospatial Web Applications
What’s Your Water Level? – by U.S. NOAA NCCOS to collect public observations of water levels, using Story Map & GeoForm
Reef Catch Reporter – by Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County, FL using GeoForm
Coyote Incident Reporter – by City of Huntington Beach, CA using GeoForm
TURT (Turtles Uniting Researchers and Tourists) – iTunes Apple App link and Google Play link – by Loma Linda University Adventist Health Sciences Center using AppStudio for ArcGIS Quick Report.
El Nino Coastal Monitoring with Drones – The Nature Conservancy & DroneDeploy
Whale mAPP – A web- and mobile-based application that uses GIS to allow anyone to monitor marine mammals anywhere in the world.

Additional ArcGIS StoryMap Examples

ArcGIS and Citizen Science (Esri StoryMap)
Birdability – (National Audubon Society StoryMap)
Edges of (all) Life – species ranges as indicators of climate change (Univ of Colorado, Denver)
Riverfly Monitoring Hub, (Southeast Rivers Trust, London)
Surfing for Science and Stewardardship: The Smartfin Project (Smartfin.org)
Citizen Scientists – Power of the Crowd: Citizen Scientist Driving Discovery (U.S. NOAA)
Oregon: Ocean Acidification: An Early Warning Geographical Hot-Spot for Monitoring Ocean pH Levels (Surfrider Foundation story map)
Paradise Mapped: Open Reef Returns to Belize (Citizen Science GIS story map)
Together, Everything is Possible: Citizen Science GIS in Hopkins, Belize (Citizen Science GIS story map)
Beauty from Above: Belize Barrier Reef Islands citizen science mapping project (Citizen Science GIS story map)
Bio Blitz 2015: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park story map
HERON: A look back at 2017 Thanks to HERON volunteers who monitored colonies, and to landowners who allowed access. Created by Maine Dept of Inland Fisheries Wildlife, Heron Observation Network of Maine (HERON)

Esri and National Audubon Society

Video: The Internet of Things Esri FedGIS Plenary presentation (Feb. 2017)
Video: National Audubon Society and GIS (Dec. 2016)
National Audubon Society Reshapes Its Approach to Data (ArcNews Summer 2015)

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Citizen Science Articles

Citizen Science Persists in the Face of COVID-19 by Anna Moser (National Park Service article)
The Survey123 App: Enhancing the Citizen Science Experience by Nate Wold (National Park Service article)
Wrangling digital solutions, data collection, and volunteers by Adam Jenkins (ArcGIS Blog, July 2020)
Global Citizen Science Effort Marks the Fiftieth Anniversary of Earth Day, (Esri Blog October 22, 2019)
The Golden Rule and Citizen Engagement by Dr. Tim Hawthorne, (ArcUser Winter 2019)
Where are We with Citizen Science Mapping Apps Today? by Diana S. Sinton, Executive Director, University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS) (Directions Magazine, April 18, 2018)
The Oregan Ocean Acid Test: Citizens are helping OSU scientists monitor coastal waters by Jim Yuskavitch (Oregan State University Terra, Feb 1, 2018)
Helping Youth Form Scientific Habits of Mind by Dixon Butler, Youth Learning as Citizen Environmental Scientists (ArcNews, Fall 2017)
Reporters, Scientists, and Citizens Team to Map Virginia’s Highest Tide by Dawn Wright (Esri Blog, Dec. 2017)
Citizen Science GIS Program by Rachel Layko (Youth Mappers, Oct. 2017)
Flattened Forms: Using Survey123 for ArcGIS to eliminate paper data sheet and collect roadkill information by Joseph Kinyon, GIS Manager, Sonoma Land Trust (GeoNet the Esri Community, Sept. 2017)
For A Minnesota City, an Adopt a Park App is a Thing of Beautiful by Carla Wheeler (ArcWatch, May 2017)
Crowdsourcing Geoscience: Transforming interest into data by Sudhir Shrestha, Esri (AGU Blogosphere October 14, 2016)
Building the Forest Atlases with Open Data and Open Source blog by Thomas Maschler & Asa Strong, World Resources Institute (via Esri Blog, October 5, 2016)
GIS and Citizen Science: Combining Open Source and Esri Technologies presentation by Patrick Rickles & Muki Haklay (Esri Education Conference paper session 2016)
Sea Turtle Tracking App Created by Loma Linda Researchers (Spectrum Magazine June 2016)
GIS Makes Citizen Science More Accessible by Dr. Lei Lani Stelle, University of Redlands (ArcNews Summer 2015)
GIS Empowers Community Engagement (ArcNews Summer 2015)
Citizen Geography with National Geographic FieldScope by Daniel C. Edelson, Vice President for Education, National Geographic Society (ArcNews Summer 2014)

Citizen Science Presentations and Videos

Expanding Analysis of Herpetofauna in the City of Ann Arbor Michigan webinar (November 2020)
Integrated Data Management Systems for Master Gardeners video by USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (July 2020)
Citizen Science with Survey123 webinar by Esri Canada Education Team (January 23, 2019)

Additional Citizen Science Community Resources