Crowdsourcing Science

This afternoon, you could take a 15-minute break to work with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to decode red-tailed hawk screeches. After dinner? Transcribe ancient letters to help climatologists understand antiquated weather patterns. Across the world, researchers offer citizen science projects that invite the public to contribute to larger scientific enterprises. But why do people choose to spend their time this way, wondered Gail Jones ’87 PHD, a science education professor at NC State.