Woman taking notes in her field notebook

Citizen Science

Help advance new knowledge

Discoveries unfold, breakthroughs happen, and the future is being made at the U of M. Now more than ever, discoveries are made thanks to crowdsourced projects that connect volunteers—citizen scientists—with active University research.

Gaining new knowledge means digging through a lot of data, and citizen science utilizes a network of people to help professional researchers with data collection, analysis, and reporting. No formal training is required to become a citizen scientist, and projects are designed to make participation easy and accessible (often from any corner of the globe online).

Projects conducted in collaboration with or under the direction of professional researchers and institutions like the University of Minnesota ensure integration of explicit and tested protocols or workflows for collecting or processing data; vetting of data by professional researchers; and specific measurable goals for public education, community building, and engagement.