Doctoral Dissertation Research: Socio-Technical Practices in the Context of Marcellus Shale Water-Quality Science

概述这篇STS博士论文改进拨款将资助研究，以考察向更大和更复杂的环境信息系统的驱动与当地对污染行业知识的需求之间的紧张关系。计算技术使大数据系统的发展能够分析自然和建筑环境；而非科学家越来越多地参与收集当地社区污染的证据。因此，在非专业公民通过参与性环境科学寻求地方赋权的同时，他们对数据收集工作的贡献有助于放大大数据在提出科学知识主张方面的重要性。智力价值这项研究是一项研究，志愿者水监测组织对纽约和宾夕法尼亚州天然气开采造成的污染威胁做出反应。这项研究将跟踪五个能力建设组织，这些组织在制定志愿者监测协议、汇总数据以及确定数据将如何在公共数据门户中使用方面发挥了重要作用。该研究涉及几个问题，例如解释能力建设组织使用的监测做法、数据汇总战略和数据共享做法的多样性，以及说明水监测社区在创建标准的共享水质数据库方面面临的困难。为了回答这些问题，研究采用了混合方法，包括对多个利益相关者群体成员的定性访谈，以及对能力建设组织之间举行的战略会议的参与者观察。这项研究将有助于STS关于公民科学的文献和越来越多的关于大数据信息学的研究。广泛影响这项研究的结果将有可能影响公民社会团体的技术实践和信息管理战略。它将通过向参与研究的能力建设组织、志愿者团体和其他利益攸关方团体提供知识，为志愿水监测社区做出重大贡献。这项研究还将为监管机构和研究科学家的做法提供信息，他们正在寻找有效的方法，与即将上线支持公民科学团体的新信息系统互动。

OverviewThis STS Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant will fund research to examine the tension between the drive toward bigger and more complex environmental information systems and local needs for knowledge about polluting industries. Computing technologies have enabled the development of big-data systems to analyze natural and built environments; whereas, non-scientists are increasingly involved in gathering evidence of pollution in their local communities. Thus, while lay citizens seek local empowerment through participatory environmental science, their contributions to data gathering efforts serve to amplify the importance of big data in making scientific knowledge claims.Intellectual MeritThe research is a study volunteer water monitoring groups that respond to pollution threats from natural gas extraction in New York and Pennsylvania. The study will follow five capacity building organizations that play an important role in developing volunteer monitoring protocols, aggregating data, and determining how data will be used in public data portals. The study addresses several issues, such as explaining the diversity of monitoring practices, data aggregating strategies, and data sharing practices that are used by capacity building organizations, and explaining the difficulties water monitoring communities have faced in creating a standard, shared, water-quality database. To answer these questions, the research uses mixed-methods including qualitative interviews with members of multiple stakeholder groups, and participant observation of strategy sessions held between capacity building organizations. The study will contributes to STS literature on citizen science and a growing body of research on big-data informatics.Broader ImpactsThe results of this research will have potential to impact technical practices and information management strategies of civil society groups. It will make significant contributions to volunteer water-monitoring communities by contributing knowledge to capacity building organizations, volunteer groups, and other stakeholder groups that participate in the study. The study will also inform the practices of regulators and research scientists who are seeking effective ways to interact with new information systems that are coming online to support citizen science groups.