On Tue, 17 Oct 1995, Stuart MacKay wrote:
[...]
> I was talking to a researcher who was working on shorebirds. When I
> mentioned that my project on sanderling was likely to be very long term -
> 10 years or more the reply was 'where are you going to get the grant
> from ?'
>
> This is in a sense symptomatic of an attitude which limits the
> aspirations of motivated individuals who may want to do more than simply
> help out on a serious study run by professionals. But then again turning the argument against myself if people are motivated enough to do then they jsut get
> on with it. I was told by several people that getting a banding permit was well nigh
> impossible - however after cutting through all the fog it wasn't that hard
> after all.
[...]

Hi Stuart -- I wanted to point out another possible interpretation for the
reaction you are getting from the "professionals". My reaction to hearing
about your sanderling project was pretty much the same -- where will he
get the grant from, what school will he be with, etc. But that isn't
because I assume that the "pros" are better than the "amateurs" and that
only a "pro" (with a grant & biology-related job, etc.) could do the job
well. I think a dedicated amateur, someone who does the necessary
background research & has the appropriate training & the brains, can do
an excellent job.

But I don't EXPECT that to happen very often, simply because it takes time
and money (especially when travel is involved) to do good research. And
that's the only reason that I assumed that you were a "professional" when
I heard you were planning a long-term research project. Field research
takes both a chunk of weeks/months in the field, and also smaller chunks
of time in the rest of the year for analysis & writeup (necessary if you
want to inform the rest of the world about what you did). Almost all the
non-biologists I know are so busy all the time, working long hours at
their non-biology jobs, raising their kids, etc., that it is very
surprising to find someone like you who not only has the dedication and
knowledge, but *also* the vacation time (or financial & career security to
be able to leave a job to go work in the field),
analysis-and-getting-the-word-out time afterwards, and the money, to do
good work on your own. I'm delighted that this is the case with you! I
bet you will do great sanderling research. But I think you are an
exception -- NOT because amateurs are inferior researchers, but just
because amateurs have more limited resources (time & money) to focus on
research than do the professionals, and so, fewer of the amateurs WANT to
get that deeply involved.


Kathleen Hunt