Frequently Asked Questions

Don't see the answer to your question? Visit the Zooniverse Solutions webpage, ask on Zooniverse Talk, or contact us.

• Why do researchers need your help? Why can't computers do these tasks?

  Humans are better than computers at many tasks. For most Zooniverse projects, computers just aren’t good enough to do the required task, or they may miss interesting features that a human would spot - this is why we need your help. Some Zooniverse projects are also using human classifications to help train computers to do better at these research tasks in the future. When you participate in a Zooniverse project, you are contributing to real research.

• How do I know if I'm doing this right?

  For most of the subjects shown in Zooniverse projects, the researchers don't know the correct answer and that's why they need your help. Human beings are really good at pattern recognition tasks, so generally your first guess is likely the right one. Don’t worry too much about making an occasional mistake - more than one person will review each image, video or graph in a project. Most Zooniverse projects have a Help button, a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page, and a Field Guide with more information to guide you when classifying.

• What happens to my classification after I submit it?

  Your classifications are stored in the Zooniverse's secure online database. Project research teams download their project’s classification data and combine the multiple submissions together to create a ‘final’ response for each subject. Once you have submitted your classification for a given subject, you can't go back and edit it. For information about data ownership, please see our Zooniverse User Agreement and Privacy Policy page.

• Can I download a volunteer Certificate? Can I use Zooniverse to fulfill Service Learning requirements?

  Yes. Go to zooniverse.org, log in, click ‘More Stats’, and then click the ‘Generate Volunteer Certificate’ button to the bottom-right of the stats bar chart. Then save or print your certificate! Read more here.

• Why are stats displayed in the UTC timezone?

  Classification metadata is stored in our database with UTC timestamps, and the stats service aggregates classification counts into buckets by UTC date ranges. All stats are displayed consistently in UTC date ranges.

• What does the Zooniverse do with my account information?

  The Zooniverse takes very seriously the task of protecting our volunteer's personal information and classification data. Details about these efforts can be found on the Zooniverse User Agreement and Privacy Policy page and the Zooniverse Security page.

• I have a feature request or found a bug; who should I talk to/how do I report it?

  You can post your suggestions for new features and report bugs via Zooniverse Talk, through an Issue on the relevant Github repository, or contact us.

• Is the Zooniverse hiring?

  The Zooniverse is a collaboration between institutions from the United Kingdom and the United States; all of our team are employed by one or the other of these partner institutions. Check out the Zooniverse jobs page to find out more about employment opportunities within the Zooniverse.

• Is the Zooniverse a non-profit organization?

  The Zooniverse is a platform for people-powered research, not an entity, company, or non-profit. We are a multi-institutional collaboration.

  The Adler Planetarium in Chicago, one of the host institutions for the Zooniverse team, is a 501(c)(3). Individuals or organizations that need to link explicitly to a 501(c)(3) for their volunteering efforts use the Adler Planetarium as the reference. Documentation of the Adler Planetarium's 501(c)(3) status is provided here, and the Adler Planetarium EIN number is 36-6210902. When inputting the organization name, please use “Adler Planetarium - Zooniverse” if possible. If not possible, please use “Adler Planetarium” (which matches the EIN number). In all cases, you'll volunteer through Zooniverse.org.

  For information on how to donate, please visit our donation page.

• I'm a project owner/research team member, how do I acknowledge the Zooniverse and the Project Builder Platform in my paper, talk abstract, etc.?

  You can find more details on how to cite the Zooniverse in research publications using data derived from use of the Zooniverse Project Builder on our Resources page.

• What browser version does Zooniverse support?

  We support major browsers up to the second to last version.