ACCURACY OF BODY SIZE DATA COLLECTED BY UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT

Involvement of students and the general public in authentic research activities has become increasingly popular over the last decades. For scientists working at undergraduate institutions, it is particularly important to gain an understanding of the accuracy of data collected by students. Ignoring student-collected data can lead to frustration among young scientists as they are clearly motivated by the belief that their contribution to research is of significance. In addition, students are often the only research assistants available for researchers working at undergraduate institutions. This study analyzes the accuracy of body size measurements of two gastropod taxa, Melongena sp. with pronounced spines and Conus sp. without sculptural elements, both from the Caloosahatchee Formation of the Late Pliocene of Florida. After a standardized introduction to measuring technique and geologic info of the material, every participant measured a minimum of ten specimens resulting in 2662 measurements. Personal information of the participants was collected determining their educational background. Our study group included 102 undergraduate students and 34 graduate students and professionals. 18 individuals with extensive Paleontological mollusk experience were chosen to serve as a baseline for acceptable measurements and the students’ data was, in turn, compared to this range. Preliminary results show that overall 69.81% of undergrad and graduate measurements fell within the accepted range for width and 87.61% for height measurement, suggesting that height is easier to measure than width. Sculptural elements obstructing measurements lead to further inaccuracies. Comparisons using chi square test show that both a participant’s major field of study and experience level in geology are significant variables in relation to accuracy of measurement. Overall, in terms of accuracy of measurement, graduates and geology majors performed significantly better than undergraduate students, while students that have taken a paleontology class performed slightly better than those that did not. Our results suggest students with a background in Paleontology perform better than other undergraduate students in measuring body size.