Citizen Science Lunchtime Seminar Series #3 - Debbie Gonzalez Canada (FULL)
Channel: Australian Citizen Science Association
Date: 2021-05-25

Welcome to the 3rd full Australian Citizen Science Association (ACSA) Early-Mid career researchers (EMCR) Working Group's Lunchtime Seminar featuring Debbie Gonzalez Canada (The University of Melbourne).


Presenter: Debbie Gonzalez Canada (The University of Melbourne)
Date: 12 PM AEDT Thursday, May 6th, 2021


Title: In citizen science, how do digital tools shape biodiversity monitoring?

Abstract: Participation in citizen science (CS) increasingly requires digital technologies -such as smartphones- for communication, data capture, and data analysis. Digital technologies in CS promise to increase participants’ numbers and the quantity of data collected, as well as improve data quality. However, little is known about the risks and other implications in the shift from face-to-face to digital volunteering. Debbie's research project seeks to understand how digital tools shape what citizen science participants do and experience when monitoring biodiversity.

In this seminar, Debbie shares initial insights from in-depth interviews with frog and bird monitoring volunteers. The preliminary analyses revealed opportunities for participant recruitment, training, and retention, such as synergies between online and face-to-face activities and crossovers between different CS programs. Debbie discusses her findings with CS researchers and practitioners and hopes to broaden the definition of "monitoring" and to question the ways evidence is created, accessed, and used by different actors in digital CS platforms.

Debbie Gonzalez Canada is a Ph.D. Candidate and tutor at the University of Melbourne. Debbie is researching participation in digital citizen science in the School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, and her focus is how digital technologies (such as smartphones) shape social experiences and practices of biodiversity monitoring. She tutors AI, Ethics, and the Law as part of CAIDE, the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Ethics.


More info: https://ess.science.unimelb.edu.au/debbie-gonzalez-canada/


Follow Debbie on Twitter: @ParticipatorySc



About the EMCR Lunchtime Seminar Series: 
With a goal to unite citizen science-aligned researchers and practitioners in Australia, these seminars are a space to advance scholarship, provide support, share resources and advocate for new opportunities. The presentations are recorded and followed by a community discussion tackling local and global citizen science issues.