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Enhancing Citizen Science: Building a Web-Based Platform for Optimizing the Area-of-Interest Data Collection Process

Organization(s):Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) GLOBE v-School
Country:United States of America
Student(s):Yuvraj Lakhotia, Abdullahi Adeboye, Ryan Parsaee, Grace Valdez, Jeff Cheong, Benjamin Herschman
Grade Level:Secondary School (grades 9-12, ages 14-18)
GLOBE Educator(s):Cassie Soeffing
Contributors:Dr. Russanne Low, SME, IGES. Peder Nelson, SME, OSU. Andrew Clark, SME, IGES. Dr. Erika Podest, SME, NASA JPL, AJ Caesar, peer mentor.
Report Type(s):International Virtual Science Symposium Report, Mission Mosquito Report
Protocols:Land Cover Classification, Earth As a System, Mosquitoes
Presentation Video: View Video
Presentation Poster: View Document
Language(s):English
Date Submitted:01/17/2024
Citizen science has emerged as a pivotal approach in expanding the horizons of scientific research on a global scale. A current study exemplifies the involvement of citizen scientists who create a virtual 3-kilometer by 3-kilometer grid, termed an Area of Interest (AOI), in their local surroundings. Within these AOIs, 37 evenly-spaced land cover observation points are generated using an external tool and conducted using the NASA-funded GLOBE Observer mobile app. However, participants have highlighted the inconvenience of navigating to the designated points within the AOI grid, posing challenges to their active engagement in the study. To address these concerns, we propose the development of an integrated web application that offers visualizations of the AOI points, ensures accessibility to each point, and facilitates seamless navigation to the locations in real-time. This project aims to present a comprehensive system that graphically plots a user’s AOI points on an interactive map, leveraging the centroid location, empowering them to effortlessly complete the necessary observations at each point and keep track of these observations. By streamlining the AOI setup process and enhancing user experience, we envision broadening the accessibility of AOI observations and citizen science data to the wider public. The project will employ cross-platform frameworks, namely ASP .NET Core integrated with TypeScript and PostgreSQL, to expedite the development and deployment of the app on web-based systems. Validation and fine-tuning of the app's design will be conducted using previously-established AOI grids. The potential impact of this application encompasses enhanced user satisfaction, increased AOI creation rates, and reduced AOI setup and navigation times. These improvements can significantly contribute to the success of citizen science initiatives, fostering meaningful participation and high-quality data contributions from the open-science community. Keywords: citizen science, accessibility, NASA, GLOBE, area-of-interest, web, application


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