Data Quality from a Community-Based, Water-Quality Monitoring Project in the Yukon River Basin
This paper examines the quality of data collected by the Indigenous Observation Network, a community-based water-quality project in the Yukon River Basin of Alaska and Canada. The Indigenous Observation Network relies on community technicians to collect surface-water samples from as many as fifty lo...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:60f424d1398b4db4b2e3ec3a46befb41 2023-05-15T18:45:56+02:00 Data Quality from a Community-Based, Water-Quality Monitoring Project in the Yukon River Basin Nicole Herman-Mercer Ronald Antweiler Nicole Wilson Edda Mutter Ryan Toohey Paul Schuster 2018-08-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5334/cstp.123 https://doaj.org/article/60f424d1398b4db4b2e3ec3a46befb41 EN eng Ubiquity Press https://theoryandpractice.citizenscienceassociation.org/articles/123 https://doaj.org/toc/2057-4991 2057-4991 doi:10.5334/cstp.123 https://doaj.org/article/60f424d1398b4db4b2e3ec3a46befb41 Citizen Science: Theory and Practice, Vol 3, Iss 2 (2018) monitoring public participation quality assurance/quality control statistics community-based monitoring Yukon River Basin water quality Science Q article 2018 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5334/cstp.123 2022-12-31T09:02:34Z This paper examines the quality of data collected by the Indigenous Observation Network, a community-based water-quality project in the Yukon River Basin of Alaska and Canada. The Indigenous Observation Network relies on community technicians to collect surface-water samples from as many as fifty locations to achieve their goals of monitoring the quality of the Yukon River and major tributaries in the basin and maintaining a long-term record of baseline data against which future changes can be measured. This paper addresses concerns about the accuracy, precision, and reliability of data collected by non-professionals. The Indigenous Observation Network data are examined in the context of a standard data life cycle: plan, collect, assure, and describe; as compared to professional scientific activities. Field and laboratory protocols and procedures of the Indigenous Observation Network are compared to those utilized by professional scientists. The data of the Indigenous Observation Network are statistically compared to those collected by professional scientists through a retrospective analysis of a set of water-quality parameters reported by all three projects over a number of years. No statistical differences were found among the three projects for pH, Calcium, Magnesium, or Alkalinity, although statistically significant differences were found for Sodium, Chloride, Sulfate, and Potassium concentrations. The statistical differences found were small and likely not significant in terms of interpreting the data for a variety of uses. Our results suggest that Indigenous Observation Network data are of high quality, and with consistent protocols and participant training, community based monitoring projects can collect data that are accurate, precise, and reliable. Article in Journal/Newspaper Yukon river Alaska Yukon Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Yukon Canada Citizen Science: Theory and Practice 3 2 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
monitoring public participation quality assurance/quality control statistics community-based monitoring Yukon River Basin water quality Science Q |
spellingShingle |
monitoring public participation quality assurance/quality control statistics community-based monitoring Yukon River Basin water quality Science Q Nicole Herman-Mercer Ronald Antweiler Nicole Wilson Edda Mutter Ryan Toohey Paul Schuster Data Quality from a Community-Based, Water-Quality Monitoring Project in the Yukon River Basin |
topic_facet |
monitoring public participation quality assurance/quality control statistics community-based monitoring Yukon River Basin water quality Science Q |
description |
This paper examines the quality of data collected by the Indigenous Observation Network, a community-based water-quality project in the Yukon River Basin of Alaska and Canada. The Indigenous Observation Network relies on community technicians to collect surface-water samples from as many as fifty locations to achieve their goals of monitoring the quality of the Yukon River and major tributaries in the basin and maintaining a long-term record of baseline data against which future changes can be measured. This paper addresses concerns about the accuracy, precision, and reliability of data collected by non-professionals. The Indigenous Observation Network data are examined in the context of a standard data life cycle: plan, collect, assure, and describe; as compared to professional scientific activities. Field and laboratory protocols and procedures of the Indigenous Observation Network are compared to those utilized by professional scientists. The data of the Indigenous Observation Network are statistically compared to those collected by professional scientists through a retrospective analysis of a set of water-quality parameters reported by all three projects over a number of years. No statistical differences were found among the three projects for pH, Calcium, Magnesium, or Alkalinity, although statistically significant differences were found for Sodium, Chloride, Sulfate, and Potassium concentrations. The statistical differences found were small and likely not significant in terms of interpreting the data for a variety of uses. Our results suggest that Indigenous Observation Network data are of high quality, and with consistent protocols and participant training, community based monitoring projects can collect data that are accurate, precise, and reliable. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Nicole Herman-Mercer Ronald Antweiler Nicole Wilson Edda Mutter Ryan Toohey Paul Schuster |
author_facet |
Nicole Herman-Mercer Ronald Antweiler Nicole Wilson Edda Mutter Ryan Toohey Paul Schuster |
author_sort |
Nicole Herman-Mercer |
title |
Data Quality from a Community-Based, Water-Quality Monitoring Project in the Yukon River Basin |
title_short |
Data Quality from a Community-Based, Water-Quality Monitoring Project in the Yukon River Basin |
title_full |
Data Quality from a Community-Based, Water-Quality Monitoring Project in the Yukon River Basin |
title_fullStr |
Data Quality from a Community-Based, Water-Quality Monitoring Project in the Yukon River Basin |
title_full_unstemmed |
Data Quality from a Community-Based, Water-Quality Monitoring Project in the Yukon River Basin |
title_sort |
data quality from a community-based, water-quality monitoring project in the yukon river basin |
publisher |
Ubiquity Press |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5334/cstp.123 https://doaj.org/article/60f424d1398b4db4b2e3ec3a46befb41 |
geographic |
Yukon Canada |
geographic_facet |
Yukon Canada |
genre |
Yukon river Alaska Yukon |
genre_facet |
Yukon river Alaska Yukon |
op_source |
Citizen Science: Theory and Practice, Vol 3, Iss 2 (2018) |
op_relation |
https://theoryandpractice.citizenscienceassociation.org/articles/123 https://doaj.org/toc/2057-4991 2057-4991 doi:10.5334/cstp.123 https://doaj.org/article/60f424d1398b4db4b2e3ec3a46befb41 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5334/cstp.123 |
container_title |
Citizen Science: Theory and Practice |
container_volume |
3 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
1 |
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1766237154861645824 |