Project Design
Once the data is collected by the citizen scientists, other citizen scientists, researchers and taxonomic experts can assist with identification. Researchers who are interested in using the data that has been collected and appropriately identified can use their "expert tool" to query searches specifically for their needs (as shown below). Once you query the specific species in the area and time frame the scientist is looking for they can then decide what data from the query they would like to export. This can range from time zone, lat, long, species, common name as well as the quality grade it was given by iNaturalist.
I think the largest problem that users seem to have is that they do not put enough data or correct data in the app for someone to correctly identify the organism. Often times people will not put their location or will simply leave the organism identified as "Unknown". This leaves thousands of images for someone to sift through for identification. People who identify the pictures submitted also complain that users do not take photos that are ideal for identification. For example on one of iNat's forum pages identifiers clarify for users what types of pictures help them make better classify the species in the pictures submitted. I think if the app/ website gave users a tutorial/ small training session on how to best fill out their submissions it would greatly assist those who help identify species. As a user who is only utilizing the iNaturalist app as a citizen scientist I wish it was more clear how to get research grade data for the people who use it for that purpose. When starting the app it does not explain how to take better pictures or get your observations verified for that use. Having more clear guidelines would be beneficial.
With that being said I think the overall layout and functions are well thought out and easy to use for inexperienced users. Simply take a picture and fill out the blank information, check out the suggestions that the app provides and submit it for others to review. I think for those who review it seems simple as well. You can view observations in your area, that you may have a wide knowledge of, from a map. From here you can make suggestions as to what the identification of the species is and why you believe it is that species. This is also able to be accomplished on its web format. The web format is easy to navigate for users who prefer a larger screen. In addition to its usability the method by which researchers can pull data seems straight forward as well. Although this is not a function I have used myself just by looking at it and trying out some mock data it seems well thought out.
As mentioned before in the introduction post about working with iNaturalist as a citizen scientist. Researchers can use the data provided by iNaturalist through Global Diversity Information Facility (GBIF). From this website you can see how much data has been collected, when it was last updated, as well as download the archives and metadata. It seems like this data can be accessed by anyone who wants to download the massive files. And even shares the articles who cited iNaturalist data in their papers. Here is the link to the GDIF site for iNaturalist, at the top right hand corner of the page there is a link for citations to view the articles. Below are some links of papers that have cited iNaturalist data I found particularly interesting:
These are just some of the 704 articles that have cited iNaturalist data.
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