call of dutty

The social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force; "we must instill a sense of duty in our children"; "every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty"- John D.Rockefeller Jr

Though there is a modern form of Citizen Science that has expanded in the past few decades, it has origins in the past. Science as a profession is a relatively new idea. Centuries ago most scientists, including Benjamin Franklin and Charles Darwin made their living in other professions, but were still able to contribute to science tremendously. Historically, most of the contributions towards the field were through some form of citizen science. It was not until the late 19th century that science became a paid profession. Nonetheless, employment did not eliminate or disengage citizen scientists— especially in fields where skills in observation can be more important than expensive equipment like archeology and ecology.

However, in current trends, most citizen scientists work in collaboration with professional counterparts on projects that have been specifically designed or constructed in a way to give amateur volunteers a specific role in a particular study. This has been rapidly evolving due to the development of next-generation tools and technologies. In this scenario all contributing parties benefit.

One of the most famous examples was started in the 1900s with the National Audubon Society, launching its Christmas Day Bird Count. The project included amateur birdwatchers tallying and reporting the number of birds they spotted on one day. In the first few years there were about 27 people that took part, but now there are more than 50,000 volunteers that take part in the activity. It also inspired other similar projects to spring up across the country. The main purpose of these large-scale bird studies help scientists spot localized changes in bird populations, which may signal and help identify an imminent environmental threat. Another well known example is a program entitled Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment, which enlists individuals from all ages, including adults and school children from over 100 countries. In this collaborative effort, students learn to take accurate measurements of the air, water, soil, and vegetation in their particular area, while scientists use the measurements to improve their understanding of the global environment. [2,3,4]