Data Governance
At Journey North, we are proud to be stewards of volunteer-contributed migratory data, accumulated over 30 years of dedicated observation and collaboration. We believe in the power of open data to drive scientific progress. We also believe that it is imperative that we follow data governance principles that help ensure the integrity and reliability of our data while also uphold our commitment to transparency, privacy, and ethical use.
Journey North harnesses the power of crowdsourced, collective observations. By aggregating data from numerous participants, Journey North helps to create comprehensive datasets that provide insights into migration timing and bird/insect distribution. Journey North volunteers contribute valuable data to migratory science by collecting observational reports, including data on:
- Event-based phenological monitoring: Journey North volunteers track the timing of annual life cycle events, such as the first arrival dates of migratory birds ahd insects, providing valuable information about migration timing. Recording the timing of migration and other phenological events is critical. Data on when birds and insects begin their migration, the pace at which they travel, and how long they stay at different locations and how the timing of these events have changed over the years, can reveal connections to environmental cues like temperature and food availability.
- Geographical information: Volunteers provide location data when recording bird and insect observations. This geographical information helps researchers identify important stopover sites, breeding areas, and wintering locations. Understanding where birds and insects breed and where they spend the winter is vital. This information provides insight into the various habitats they depend on throughout their annual cycle.
- Longitudinal data: Begun in 1993, the Journey North platform encourages participants to contribute data over extended periods. This longitudinal data allows researchers to detect trends and changes in migration timing and distribution of species over time.
We hope that this information on our data governance policies and links to published data packages encourages the use of volunteer-contributed data.
- Data Accessibility and Transparency: Data Packages & Metadata Documentation
Our published data packages ensure that our data is findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (meeting F.A.I.R. data management principles). Metadata, which describes the observational reports for nine projects is available in an environmental repository hosted by Environmental Data Initiative to facilitate data discovery. Data users can download data based on project of interest with several data analysis packages (including R and Python).
Read more>> Environmental Data Initiative
- Data Accessibility and Transparency: Geocoding Metadata
Our online mapping platform serves as a hub for accessing and exploring decades' worth of migratory data, fostering collaboration and discovery by the general public.
Geolocation information is crucial to the Journey North program, which relies on citizen scientists across North America to report when and where they observe migratory species. These precise location details allow us to track migration patterns accurately, understand species behavior, and contribute to broader ecological research. Because the success of our program hinges on the accuracy of these geolocated observations, it's important to provide detailed information about our geocoding system. This ensures transparency and helps researchers and the public understand how we capture, process, and utilize this vital data.
Geocoding metadata refers to the information that describes the processes, accuracy, and sources used in geocoding—translating addresses or place names into geographic coordinates (latitude and longitude). This metadata documentation includes the timeline of geocoding and the accuracy of the geocoding as well as the geocoding methodology.
Read more>> Geocoding Metadata
- Data Reliability and Accuracy
At Journey North, we greatly value the contributions of our community of citizen scientists, who provide observational reports in an opportunistic and crowdsourced manner. While our volunteers do not follow strict standardized protocols, we are committed to ensuring the accuracy and reliability of the data through careful validation processes. The Journey North Data Verifier staff has played a vital role in implementing and upholding our data governance policies, ensuring data quality, privacy, and adherence to internal guidelines. From 2000 to 2023, part-time Data Verifiers reviewed reports using the following criteria: expert review, examination of digital photo vouchers, direct follow-up with volunteers, reliance on known volunteers, and data triangulation. However, due to budget constraints, Journey North unfortunately had to discontinue the Data Verifier position. Despite this change, we remain dedicated to maintaining data integrity to the best of our ability, considering the increasing volume of observational reports, which reached 44,000+ in 2023, surpassing the capacity for manual verification by any one person. Toward this end, Journey North is reviewing potential options.
- Privacy and Confidentiality
Protecting the privacy of our volunteers is critical. Toward this end, personal information collected during registration and submission is handled with care and never shared without first contacting a participant to obtain consent.
Read more>> Privacy Policy
- Attribution and Citation
We encourage users of Journey North data to properly attribute and cite the published datapackages using DOI numbers provided. For additional use of Journey North data, including images, infographics and educational materials, Journey North Teams of Use document provides information on acknowledge the contributions of our volunteers and citation.
Read more>> Terms of Use
- Ethical Use of Data
We expect all users of Journey North data to adhere to ethical standards in their research and educational activities. Any misuse or misrepresentation of the data is strictly prohibited.
Read more>> Terms of Use
- Continuous Improvement
We continuously review and update our data governance policies to adapt to evolving best practices and technological advancements. Feedback from our community is welcomed and valued in this process.
Published Data Packages
If you wish to download Journey North data for your research, we have published data packages in a central data repository where you will find metadata documentation, data exploration tools, citation and attribution information, and DOI numbers. These data packages include all project data from 1996 to 2020.
If you need datasets after 2020, please contact Journey North via out Contact Us form.
- Sheehan, N. and L. Weber-Grullon. 2021. Journey North - Monarch Butterfly and Milkweed observations by volunteer community scientists across Central and North America (1996-2020) ver 1. Environmental Data Initiative.
https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/f7d7bef57f94b33b8a18a26954252412 (Accessed 2023-03-09).
Monarch Butterfly Migration & Milkweed Phenology Project- Sheehan, N. and L. Weber-Grullon. 2021. Journey North - Hummingbird observations by volunteer community scientists across Central and North America (1996-2020) ver 1. Environmental Data Initiative.
https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/a4bebd2b5fb5c1fd0757eac254a06357 (Accessed 2023-03-09).
Hummingbird Migration Project- Sheehan, N. and M. Abarca. 2022. Journey North - Barn Swallow observations by volunteer community scientists across Central and North America (2000-2020) ver 1. Environmental Data Initiative.
https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/8fe04755e8895f2a0100bc22402440db (Accessed 2023-03-09).
Barn Swallow Migration Project- Sheehan, N. and M. Abarca. 2022. Journey North - Tulip observations by volunteer community scientists across North America (1996-2020) ver 1. Environmental Data Initiative.
https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/3c94a675eb2e870ed47d0c0d53df7f0f (Accessed 2023-03-09).
Tulip Test Garden Project- Sheehan, N. and M. Abarca. 2022. Journey North - Red-winged blackbird observations by volunteer community scientists across Central and North America (1999-2020) ver 1. Environmental Data Initiative.
https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/b6fe30b4a8b9a761cd809469ef6356c8 (Accessed 2023-03-09).
Red-winged Blackbird Migration Project- Sheehan, N. and M. Abarca. 2022. Journey North - American Robin observations by volunteer community scientists across Central and North America (1996-2020) ver 1. Environmental Data Initiative.
https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/935978d401d9b947865a9744db90f417 (Accessed 2023-03-09).
American Robin Migration Project- Sheehan, N. and M. Abarca. 2022. Journey North - Common Loon and Ice-Out observations by volunteer community scientists across North America (1997-2020) ver 2. Environmental Data Initiative.
https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/9b8eee58e19deed5d5e6fcbbf2318adf (Accessed 2023-03-09).
Common Loon Migration and Ice-Out/Ice-On Project- Sheehan, N. and M. Abarca. 2022. Journey North - Oriole observations by volunteer community scientists across Central and North America (1997-2020) ver 2. Environmental Data Initiative.
https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/2844e3353c633bcf4043ecb0955196b0 (Accessed 2023-03-09).
Oriole Migration Project- Sheehan, N. and M. Abarca. 2022. Journey North - Gray Whale observations by volunteer community scientists across the Eastern Pacific Ocean (1997-2020) ver 3. Environmental Data Initiative.
https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/9764f8f6df4cd4a8cdf9440a6483cdc0 (Accessed 2023-03-09).
Gray Whale Migration Project
Peer-reviewed Articles
*last updated January 2024