Do Scientists Actually Use this Data?

I spent some serious time digging around on the website to find an answer. Here’s what I know:

Notes from Nature takes specific sets of field notes (Pollinator Plants of Virginia, for example), and facilitates volunteer transcription of those images. There doesn’t seem to be much publication at this level. Zooniverse, the parent organization of Notes from Nature, lists its publications here.

According to their site, Notes from Nature has only led to a single publication, entitled “Workforce-efficient consensus in crowdsourced transcription of biocollections information.” This work focuses on the process of volunteer transcriptions rather than the data itself.

After volunteers log the data, Notes from Nature sends that data to SERNEC (Southeast Regional Network of Expertise and Collections). Their goal is to “provide herbarium specimen images and metadata from one of the most botanically diverse regions of the earth with the goal of facilitating better research, better management planning and a more well-informed public” (SERNEC).

So what happens next?

I have not been able to find any publications listing SERNEC as a data source. Perhaps this information exists, but is just not publicly available. I imagine that the National Science Foundation would want to know that scientists are actually using the data, so perhaps this is something they track internally.

I stumbled across the SERNEC Bimonthly Report February 2018-1. In this document, SERNEC lists its education and outreach activities by state. Highlights from February include a tour and demonstration to Museum Studies students in Florida, a girl scout flower badge program in West Virginia, and a new Curation of Collections course in Arkansas.

If this truly the extent of SERNEC’s data usage, this presents a major issue with the transcription project. This whole effort hinges upon making data available for scientists to use, yet I cannot find any evidence that scientists are actually taking advantage of the resource. If they are, this information is certainly not easy to find. If they aren’t, then Notes from Nature and SERNEC need to refocus attention towards this outreach. If my research is any indication, then SERNEC has put the cart before the horse. They have a great collection of data with no-one to use it.

Perhaps this piece will come in time. Maybe scientists are waiting for more data to become available before looking towards SERNEC as a trusted resource. Or maybe not. If I was in charge, I would start directing time and energy towards attracting scientists towards these collections. If this information does not begin to enhance scientific research, then it seems like a waste of resources.