The term “citizen scientists” refers to volunteers who participate as field assistants in scientific studies. Citizen scientists help monitor wild animals and plants or other environmental markers, but they are not paid for their assistance, nor are they necessarily even scientists. Most are amateurs who volunteer to assist ecological research because they love the outdoors or are concerned about environmental trends and problems and want to do something about them. Typically, volunteers do not analyze data or write scientific papers, but they are essential to gathering the information on which studies are based. Citizen scientists represent “a partnership between volunteers and scientists to answer real-world questions,” states Rick Bonney, director of program development for Cornell University’s Laboratory of Ornithology in Ithaca, New York.