Citizen Science: Building REALLY Large Teams to Get Research Done Richard J. Bookman, PhD [email protected] @rbookman Oct 8, 2014 UM CTSI Seminar Series or <…with apologies to Pirandello…> 8 short stories in search of authority
Jun 27, 2015
Citizen Science: Building REALLY Large Teams to Get Research Done
Richard J. Bookman, [email protected]
@rbookman
Oct 8, 2014UM CTSI Seminar Series
or<…with apologies to Pirandello…>
8 short stories in search of authority
<talk>
<intro>
ATLAS team at the LHC/CERN
http://particularphysics.tumblr.com/day/2012/08/31
in the beginning…
…there was nothing but citizen science.
http://www.theshirtdudes.com/trust-scientist.html
Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts.
Richard Feynman,“What is Science?”, address to science teachers, 1966
http://img.youtube.com/vi/_ah7f-1M2Sg/hqdefault.jpg
Crowdsourcing is not new
“The greatest improvements…have been the effects of the division of labor.”Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations, 1776
Cognitive surplus
</intro>
<stories>
<1>
</1><2>
http://blog.galaxyzoo.org/2013/02/22/green-valley-the-town-too-good-to-di/
http://spaceinfo.com.au/2010/09/16/puzzle-of-the-green-pea-galaxies/
</2><3>
• Is it citizen science?
</3><4>
</4><5>
</5><6>
</6><7>
And what if the science is about citizen health?
http://www.patientslikeme.com/about
http://www.pnas.org/content/105/6/2052
Methods
http://www.pnas.org/content/105/6/2052
Wicks et al., Nat Biotech, 29(5);p411.
http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v29/n5/full/nbt.1837.html
Abstract
Patients with serious diseases may experiment with drugsthat have not received regulatory approval. Online patient communities structured around quantitative outcome datahave the potential to provide an observational environmentto monitor such drug usage and its consequences. Herewe describe an analysis of data reported on the website PatientsLikeMe by patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) who experimented with lithium carbonate treatment.To reduce potential bias owing to lack of randomization, we developed an algorithm to match 149 treated patients to multiple controls (447 total) based on the progression of their disease course. At 12 months after treatment, we found no effect of lithium on disease progression. Although observational studies using unblinded data are not a substitute for double- blind randomized control trials, this study reached the same conclusion as subsequent randomized trials,
http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v29/n5/pdf/nbt.1837.pdf
And what if the science is about citizen health?
“What I’ve found to be most amazing about these forums thus far is the ability of patients to identify common side effects, formulate solutions, test them, and confirm their general efficacy all in a matter of days, when it would take researchers weeks or even months to generate the same knowledge.”—Patient with ALS discussing potential treatments on the forum of the ALS Therapy Development Institute
</7><8>
</8></stories>
<show $>
NIH’s View
https://imagebank.nih.gov/details.cfm?imageid=1335
http://dpcpsi.nih.gov/sites/default/files/Citizen_Science_presentation_to_CoC_Jan31.pdf
http://dpcpsi.nih.gov/sites/default/files/Citizen_Science_presentation_to_CoC_Jan31.pdf
</show $>
<issues>
what is citizen science?
What do citizen scientists do?
Collect dataDonate samples (dna, µbiome)Analyze dataSolve puzzlesAsk questionsFormulate hypothesesBuild toolsWriteSocialize
How does citizen science work?
Standalone appPlatform-basedGamingChallenges/competitionsSolo &/or teamsSocial networks/build community
Quality
Reproducibility
Credit/Attribution
Identity/Privacy
Retention
Capacity
Emerging Issues in Citizen Science
…and then there’s this:
http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/The-Adam-Smith-Institute-Blog/2011/0131/Forget-fair-trade-buy-from-sweatshops
Ethical, Legal and Social Implications
• Virtual sweatshop
• IP
• Misrepresentation of task
• Repression 2.0
• Disruptive participants
Ethical, Legal and Social Implications
Some solutions
• Trusted platforms
• Open algorithms
• Consent to play/participate
• Identity Verification
• Credit or badge system
</issues>
How can you use citizen science and
human/machine computation in your
research?
</talk>
extras
https://www.mturk.com/mturk/welcome