Anecdata.org: A Versatile Online Community for Environmental Citizen Science

The Internet and mobile devices have opened new opportunities for citizen science, but existing citizen science websites are limited in the scope of the data they can collect. Anecdata.org, developed at MDI Biological... [ view full abstract ]

The Internet and mobile devices have opened new opportunities for citizen science, but existing citizen science websites are limited in the scope of the data they can collect. Anecdata.org, developed at MDI Biological Laboratory's Community Environmental Health Laboratory, is a new mobile-friendly web app for environmental citizen science which addresses many of these limitations.

Anecdata allows students, teachers, researchers, regulatory agencies and community organizations to crowd-source a wide range of environmental data. While existing citizen science sites only accept reports where a species is present, Anecdata collects species presence and absence reports as well as environmental data related to habitat quality and pollution events.
Project creators can make custom datasheets with lists of locations where users can add data. Users can include their device's GPS coordinates, upload photos and videos, and add additional fields on the fly while posting. They can also run advanced searches and download custom reports in spreadsheet or Google Earth format as well as ArcGIS shapefiles for use with ArcMap and QGIS.

Anecdata will enable many groups from around the globe to get started on environmental projects without having to invent data management or mapping tools. Some anticipated uses of Anecdata include: researchers collecting data on habitat quality from volunteers; teachers and students testing their hypotheses by collecting information and comparing their data to other groups' data; and regulators collecting input from citizens who may not be able to attend public hearings.