Add Your Observations

Grab a tutorial!

1.Grab a friendly tutorial

Illustrated tutorials and videos show you how to collect data and put it on the website! Choose the tutorial that best describes you. Click. Download. Print.

• CITIZEN SCIENTISTS
• STUDENTS
• EDUCATORS
• All tutorials

2.Choose a Field Mission

Choose a Field Mission!

Field Missions are the research projects that scientists and members of the Vital Signs Community want your help with.
Each Field Mission page directs you to:

• Species to look for
• Species ID cards
• Datasheets
• Sampling methods
• Equipment lists

3.Collect great data!

Look closely! Gather evidence!

Did you find the species you were looking for? Make a claim:

• I THINK I FOUND IT
• I THINK I DID NOT FIND IT

Support your claim with great written and photo evidence! Want to up your quality? Check out these pages:

• Top Ten Species Observations
• About VS Data Quality

4.Publish your data!

Publish your observation!

Go to your My Vital Signs page to add your observation. Click on "Add new investigation" in the Investigation History box.

Check your work before you publish. No one around to peer review your work? Review it yourself!

• Quality Checklist
• Peer Review

5.Celebrate!

Celebrate!

Your observation is online for everyone to see and use! Woo!
Check it out:

• Home page
• Explore Data

You'll be notified by email when it's checked by an expert and whenever someone leaves a comment

Expect to mess up a bit. Expect to want to do things differently next time. Learn and improve as you go!