ABSTRACT. Members of the public participate in scientific research in many different contexts, stemming from traditions as varied as participatory action research and citizen science. Particularly in conservation and natural resource management contexts, where research often addresses complex social-ecological questions, the emphasis on and nature of this participation can significantly affect both the way that projects are designed and the outcomes that projects achieve. We review and integrate recent work in these and other fields, which has converged such that we propose the term public participation in scientific research (PPSR) to discuss initiatives from diverse fields and traditions. We describe three predominant models of PPSR and call upon case studies suggesting that-regardless of the research context-project outcomes are influenced by (1) the degree of public participation in the research process and (2) the quality of public participation as negotiated during project design. To illustrate relationships between the quality of participation and outcomes, we offer a framework that considers how scientific and public interests are negotiated for project design toward multiple, integrated goals. We suggest that this framework and models, used in tandem, can support deliberate design of PPSR efforts that will enhance their outcomes for scientific research, individual participants, and social-ecological systems.

Data alone aren't the solution, but they bring people together

The rapid growth of the natural gas extraction industry in Pennsylvania and neighboring states has stirred concerned citizens to seek ways to collect data on water quality impacts from the extraction activities. As a response to requests from community members, the Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring (ALLARM) developed a volunteer-friendly protocol in 2010 for early detection and reporting of surface water contamination by shale gas extraction activities in small streams. To date, ALLARM has trained more than 2,000 volunteers in Pennsylvania, New York, and West Virginia to monitor water quality (conductivity, barium, strontium, and total dissolved solids) and physical parameters (stream stage and visual observations) prior to, during, and after shale gas wells have been developed. This paper documents the operational models of Public Participation in Scientific Research (PPSR) used by ALLARM, describes the volunteer monitoring protocol developed, and examines three years of water quality results from hundreds of monitoring sites in Pennsylvania and New York.The majority of watersheds monitored are small, forested, headwater streams. Results indicate that mean conductivity in streams is strongly and positively related to the percentage of development and the percentage of limestone in the watersheds. Mean conductivity is not significantly related to number or density of drilled wells, although the dataset did not lend itself to finding a signal from shale gas activities because only 20% of the watersheds had wells drilled at the time of sampling. This fact enables the use of these data as baseline data for future documentation of shale gas impacts on water quality. Volunteers have reported multiple cases of visual pollution related to shale gas activities, but have not identified water contamination events based on stream water chemistry.The results of the volunteer dataset are compared with results from the scientific literature, affirming the credibility and usefulness of the data. Some lessons learned from this project include: The importance of strong and timely support to volunteers to ensure accurate reporting in real-time; the unique role that citizen scientists can play in a rural landscape where well sites are remote and government oversight is not practical; and the importance of customizing a PPSR operational model to fit the goals and scale of the project.Recommendations for continued collection and analysis of data include: 1) develop and implement an intentional study design to monitor those watersheds that now have baseline data once drilling begins, 2) target watersheds whose characteristics are under-represented in this dataset, 3) consider the analysis of additional parameters and the monitoring of high risk systems, 4) develop a central, user-friendly database for volunteers to submit their own data and receive preliminary analyses, and 5) partner with other volunteer data collectors to collaborate with data analysis and interpretation.

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ShaleNetwork 2012 Workshop; State College, Pennsylvania, 23–24 April 2012 The largest source of natural gas in the United States, the Marcellus shale, underlies a 95,000‐square‐mile area from Virginia to New York and from Ohio to Pennsylvania. Since 2005, about 5000 wells have been drilled in Pennsylvania alone, and about 2500 of these are now producing gas. While many welcome the shale gas jobs, others worry about environmental impacts. A workshop was convened at Pennsylvania State University to coordinate the collection of data for water quality and quantity in regions of hydrofracturing. The purpose of the event was to encourage participants to use and contribute data to a growing database of water quality and quantity for regions of shale gas development (www.shalenetwork.org).