A paper was recently published on a study that collected bobcat sightings from the public in order to 1) test habitat models/maps created from GPS collared bobcats and 2) create habitat models and maps using that sightings data to see if such a technique was practical technique for identifying habitat and population demographics to aid in conservation.

One issue the researchers attempted to address was the bias associated with public sightings. In their situation, bobcats were frequently viewed in backyards and crossing roads, thus habitat models and maps reflected that bias.

Data collected on the DFW Carnivores Project will be used in a similar way, but for more species than just bobcats. Analyzing this data will also include addressing bias, but we suspect observer bias in Dallas-Ft Worth will be quite different than New Hampshire. If you have ideas or suggestions on how to address this bias then please share!
Article: Modeling Bobcat Lynx rufus Habitat Associations Using Telemetry Locations and Citizen-Scientist Observations: Are the Results Comparable?
http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.2981/wlb.00022