NDLI: Volunteer Macroinvertebrate Monitoring: Tensions Among Group Goals, Data Quality, and Outcomes

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Nerbonne, Julia Frost Nelson, Kristen C.
Copyright Year	2008
Abstract	Volunteer monitoring of natural resources is promoted for its ability to increase public awareness, to provide valuable knowledge, and to encourage policy change that promotes ecosystem health. We used the case of volunteer macroinvertebrate monitoring (VMM) in streams to investigate whether the quality of data collected is correlated with data use and organizers’ perception of whether they have achieved these outcomes. We examined the relation between site and group characteristics, data quality, data use, and perceived outcomes (education, social capital, and policy change). We found that group size and the degree to which citizen groups perform tasks on their own (rather than aided by professionals) positively correlated with the quality of data collected. Group size and number of years monitoring positively influenced whether a group used their data. While one might expect that groups committed to collecting good-quality data would be more likely to use it, there was no relation between data quality and data use, and no relation between data quality and perceived outcomes. More data use was, however, correlated with a group’s feeling of connection to a network of engaged citizens and professionals. While VMM may hold promise for bringing citizens and scientists together to work on joint conservation agendas, our data illustrate that data quality does not correlate with a volunteer group’s desire to use their data to promote regulatory change. Therefore, we encourage scientists and citizens alike to recognize this potential disconnect and strive to be explicit about the role of data in conservation efforts.
Starting Page	470
Ending Page	479
Page Count	10
File Format	PDF
ISSN	0364152X
Journal	Environmental Management
Volume Number	42
Issue Number	3
e-ISSN	14321009
Language	English
Publisher	Springer-Verlag
Publisher Date	2008-04-22
Publisher Place	New York
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Volunteer monitoring Citizen science Macroinvertebrate monitoring Collaborative conservation Data quality Resource mobilization theory Waste Water Technology / Water Pollution Control / Water Management / Aquatic Pollution Forestry Management Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution Nature Conservation Ecology Environmental Management
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Ecology Pollution Global and Planetary Change

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

Citizen Participation in Collaborative Watershed Partnerships

Recruitment and Retention of Volunteers in a Citizen Science Network to Detect Invasive Species on Private Lands

Using Goals in Environmental Management: The Swedish System of Environmental Objectives

Conservation Covenants on Private Land: Issues with Measuring and Achieving Biodiversity Outcomes in Australia

Effects of Management Legacies on Stream Fish and Aquatic Benthic Macroinvertebrate Assemblages

What Makes Them Pay? Values of Volunteer Tourists Working for Sea Turtle Conservation

Monitoring the Response of Butterfly Communities to Prescribed Fire

Can Volunteers Collect Data that are Comparable to Professional Scientists? A Study of Variables Used in Monitoring the Outcomes of Ecosystem Rehabilitation

Long-Term Benthic Macroinvertebrate Community Monitoring to Assess Pollution Abatement Effectiveness

Volunteer Macroinvertebrate Monitoring: Tensions Among Group Goals, Data Quality, and Outcomes

Similar Documents

Citizen Participation in Collaborative Watershed Partnerships

Recruitment and Retention of Volunteers in a Citizen Science Network to Detect Invasive Species on Private Lands

Using Goals in Environmental Management: The Swedish System of Environmental Objectives

Conservation Covenants on Private Land: Issues with Measuring and Achieving Biodiversity Outcomes in Australia

Effects of Management Legacies on Stream Fish and Aquatic Benthic Macroinvertebrate Assemblages

What Makes Them Pay? Values of Volunteer Tourists Working for Sea Turtle Conservation

Monitoring the Response of Butterfly Communities to Prescribed Fire

Can Volunteers Collect Data that are Comparable to Professional Scientists? A Study of Variables Used in Monitoring the Outcomes of Ecosystem Rehabilitation

Long-Term Benthic Macroinvertebrate Community Monitoring to Assess Pollution Abatement Effectiveness

Volunteer Macroinvertebrate Monitoring: Tensions Among Group Goals, Data Quality, and Outcomes