First Citizen Science Workshop

Welcome

On behalf of the Science Organising Committee I would like to invite you to the first ASTERICS Citizen Science Workshop on 25-27 July 2016 at St. Catherine’s College, Oxford University.

The objective of this workshop is to design and prototype mass participation experiments linked to some or all of the astronomy ESFRI facilities and their precursors / pathfinders, namely

  • the Square Kilometre Array
  • the European Extremely Large Telescope
  • KM3NeT, the cubic km neutrino observatory
  • the Cherenkov Telescope Array.

This will be a “working” workshop where we will take ideas for citizen science experiments, discuss their potential, and prototype the best ideas using the Zooniverse Panoptes platform (for which we will have experts on hand).

We will also write the workshop up in a special issue of Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia (which has published several SKA precursor papers), presenting the science goals and project design of the resulting citizen science experiments.

If you are interested in participating in this workshop, please contact the chair of the organising committee. If you have a specific suggestion for someone who would have the right skills and interests to contribute to this workshop, then please bring this website to their attention.

Best wishes, Johanna Jarvis (chair) on behalf of the SOC

Workshop Preparation

Before coming to the workshop, we would like you to come up with some ideas for citizen science experiments, and be prepared to make a 5 minute (or less) presentation of each idea. The following guidance may be helpful.

  • We are particularly keen on mass participation experiments that are well-aligned with the highest priority science goals of the facilities, and that can be prototyped on pathfinder / precursor facilities.
  • Citizen science is NOT OUTREACH: it is a research tool, like a spectrometer, but deploying hundreds of thousands of volunteers on a problem. Typically, these problems are difficult to characterise computationally but easy for human pattern recognition, such as spotting penguins, classifying galaxies, or reading archaic handwriting.
  • What makes a successful citizen science project? Zooniverse experience suggests that participants ask themselves the following:
    • How easy is it?
    • How beautiful is it?
    • How important is it?
    • How famous could I get if I find something?
    • How much am I learning?
    • Are the scientists / science teams directly involved?

Science Organising Committee

  • Johanna Jarvis (chair) - j [dot] f [dot] jarvisatopen [dot] ac [dot] uk
  • Stephen Serjeant
  • Chris Lintott
  • Lucy Fortson
  • Rob van der Meer
  • Giuseppe Cimo

Provisional Timetable

Day One: Monday 25th July
10:00 Registration... with refreshments available
10:30 Workshop welcome and review of objectives
10:45 Plenary: What makes good citizen science?
11:30 Plenary: Experiences of scientist(s) who have used citizen science, Penguin watch, iSpot etc (20 - 30 min each)
12:45 Lunch
13:45 Talk: Overview of facility objectives and data products as well as CS ideas pitch from a SKA delegate
14:30 Talk: Overview of facility objectives and data products as well as CS ideas pitch from a E-ELT delegate
15:15 Break with refreshments
15:45 Talk: Overview of facility objectives and data products as well as CS ideas pitch from a KM3Net delegate
16:30 Talk: Overview of facility objectives and data products as well as CS ideas pitch from a CTA delegate
17:15 Programme Ends
18:00 Bar Opens
19:00 Informal dinner in Oxford
Day Two: Tuesday 26th July
08:00 Breakfast
09:00 Plenary: Overview discussion of day one and compilation of Hack list
09:15 Hack Round I starts... with refreshments available (but no formal break) at 10:30
12:15 Lightening updates (2 min each group + discussion) - push to beta any that are ready
12:45 Freeform Lunch - packed/portable lunch so hacks can continue if preferred
13:45 Hack round II starts... with refreshments available (but no formal break) at 15:15
16:30 Group reports (5 min each group: update hacks & beta feedback) - push to beta any that are ready
17:00 Programme Ends
18:00 Bar Opens
19:00 Formal Dinner in College
Day Three: Wednesday 27th July
08:00 Breakfast
09:00 Plenary: Delegate briefing on the outputs for PASA workshop proceedings
09:30 Reflections on past 2 days and looking forward: report from SKA
10:00 Reflections on past 2 days and looking forward: Hack report from E-ELT
10:30 Break and discussion with refreshments
11:00 Reflections on past 2 days and looking forward: Hack report from KM3Net
11:30 Reflections on past 2 days and looking forward: Hack report from CTA
12:00 Plenary: Closing discussion
12:45 Lunch
13:45 Workshop Ends

Workshop Registration

To register your interest in attending the ASTERICS Citizen Science Workshop please complete this survey. Details of payment methods will then arrive by e-mail.

First Citizen Science Workshop teaser image
Oxford (GB), 25 - 27 July 2016
Topic: 
Citizen Science
Work package: 
DECS