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arXiv · 2509.19393

MetaQuestion: A web application for expert knowledge elicitation addressing plant health and applied plant ecology

Robert Fontan·Christopher M. Perez·Ashish Adhikari·Romaric A. Mouafo-Tchinda·Aaron I. Plex Sulá·Jacobo Robledo·Berea A. Etherton·Manoj Choudhary·Muhammad Aqeel Sarwar·Zunaira Afzal Naveed·Karen A. Garrett
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Abstract

1. Expert knowledge elicitation provides information to characterize ecological systems and management options. Linking expert knowledge elicitation with a curated question catalog supports a community of practice for ongoing improvement of question quality. 2. The MetaQuestion web app we introduce here draws on the PlantQuest catalog of questions addressing applied plant ecology and management options, making the catalog available in a flexible form for organizers of expert knowledge elicitation. Organizers can select among questions in the catalog, modify them as needed, and generate an instrument customized to their elicitation project. MetaQuestion makes available PlantQuest questions specialized for the study of invasive species such as pathogens and arthropod pests, such as geographic analyses of prevalence and network analysis of the movement of plant materials. 3. Experts answer questions in the customized instrument and their responses are compiled. For settings where internet access may be sporadic, there are options to download the instrument for experts' work and then upload responses later. MetaQuestion provides the resulting dataset in a CSV file for analysis in users' choice of software 4. Development of the PlantQuest catalog and the MetaQuestion app is ongoing, incorporating lessons learned from applications of the app. The MetaQuestion app could also be adapted to address questions from other subject areas.

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Robert Fontan, Christopher M. Perez, Ashish Adhikari, Romaric A. Mouafo-Tchinda, Aaron I. Plex Sulá, Jacobo Robledo, Berea A. Etherton, Manoj Choudhary, Muhammad Aqeel Sarwar, Zunaira Afzal Naveed, Karen A. Garrett. 2025-09-22. MetaQuestion: A web application for expert knowledge elicitation addressing plant health and applied plant ecology. https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.19393

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