scholarly journals Can Short-Term Citizen Science Training Increase Knowledge, Improve Attitudes, and Change Behavior to Protect Land Crabs?

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (14) ◽  
pp. 3918 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chia-Hsuan Hsu ◽  
Yuan-Mou Chang ◽  
Chi-Chang Liu
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
Scientific Literacy ◽  
Environmental Literacy ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Land Crab ◽  
Behavior Intention ◽  
Science Projects ◽  
Change Behavior ◽  
Land Crabs ◽  
And Behavior

Citizen science projects are considered popular and efficient approaches to scientific research and conservation of sustainability. In addition, much research suggests that citizen science can improve participants’ environmental and scientific literacy when they participate in surveys over a period of time. However, considerable research indicates that people in short-term training programs do not change their environmental literacy significantly. Nevertheless, studies have stated that these results might result from inappropriate evaluation methods. In this study, we used personal meaning mapping (PMM) to evaluate participants’ knowledge, attitude, and behavior intention in relation to land crab protection. This method merges quantitative and qualitative dimensions, used in scientific knowledge research, which we extend to evaluate attitude and behavior intention. As a result, even with short-term training, we observe that participants’ knowledge, attitude, and behavior intention significantly improves. Although some individuals exhibit no change in certain respects, we use PMM to understand the causes in detail. Taiwan is an island, famous for its fertile landscapes and biodiversity, and we anticipate finding efficient means to improve public environmental literacy. According to our research, public engagement in citizen science projects is an excellent approach to environmental education and conservation for sustainability.

Promoting scientific literacy in Evolution through citizen science

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miriam Brandt ◽  
Quentin John Groom ◽  
Alexandra Magro ◽  
Dule Misevic ◽  
Claire Louisa Narraway ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Scientific Literacy ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Learning Goals ◽  
Science Projects ◽  
Global Challenges ◽  
Essential Prerequisite

Evolutionary understanding is central to biology as a whole. It is also an essential prerequisite to understanding issues in everyday life, such as advances in medicine and global challenges like climate change. Yet, evolution is generally poorly understood by civil society and many misconceptions exist. Citizen science, which has been increasing in popularity as a means to gather new data and promote scientific literacy, is one strategy through which people can learn about evolution. Despite the potential for citizen science to promote evolution learning opportunities, very few citizen science projects exist to improve scientific literacy in evolution. In this paper, we make the case for incorporating evolution education into citizen science, define key learning goals in the context of evolution, and suggest opportunities for designing and evaluating citizen science projects in order to promote scientific literacy in evolution.

scholarly journals Entomological citizen science in Canada

2017 ◽  
Vol 149 (6) ◽  
pp. 774-785 ◽  
Author(s):  
John H. Acorn
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Voluntary Participation ◽  
Scientific Process ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Science Data ◽  
Geographic Ranges ◽  
Science Projects ◽  
Online Databases ◽  
Gathering Data

AbstractCitizen science involves voluntary participation in the scientific process, typically by gathering data in order to monitor some aspect of the natural world. Entomological citizen science, as an extension of traditional amateur entomology, is an active field in Canada, with online databases such as eButterfly and BugGuide attracting both contributors and database users. As well, traditional amateur entomology continues to be important in Canada, as do short-term insect-themed educational events, the involvement of amateurs in entomological societies, and online crowdsourcing initiatives. Success of citizen science projects can be measured in many ways. In terms of published papers that analyse trends in citizen science data, Canadian projects have only begun to deliver. More valuable are particular records that improve our knowledge of geographic ranges and phenology. In terms of the endurance of particular projects, and the willingness of volunteers to participate, citizen science entomology in Canada is clearly a success. However, quality control of citizen science data remains an issue for some projects. As well, challenges remain with respect to balancing the goals of researchers, participants, and supporting institutions.

scholarly journals Gamification for social perception: introducing scientific literacy to dabblers in citizen science

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (06) ◽  
pp. A08
Author(s):  
Emilio Velis ◽  
Diego Torres ◽  
Gino Caballero
Keyword(s):  
El Salvador ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Social Perception ◽  
Scientific Literacy ◽  
Card Game ◽  
Scientific Concepts ◽  
Science Projects

Understanding scientific concepts is a crucial factor in motivating dabblers at the start of co-created citizen science projects. This article describes PACMAC, a card-based cooperative card game aimed at introducing dabblers to hypothesis and falsifiability concepts through the visualization of a social perception map. The game was evaluated in five neighborhoods from El Salvador. The results showed that PACMAP is approachable for participants of different demographics to develop an understanding of the concepts of hypotheses and falsifiability.

scholarly journals Next-generation ultrasonic recorders facilitate effective bat activity and distribution monitoring by citizen scientists

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piia Lundberg ◽  
Melissa Meierhofer ◽  
Ville Vasko ◽  
Miina Suutari ◽  
Ann Ojala ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High School Students ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Scientific Literacy ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Limiting Factor ◽  
Quality Of Data ◽  
Ecological Data ◽  
Bat Activity ◽  
Science Projects

Time and budgetary resources are often a limiting factor in the collection of large-scale ecological data. If data collected by citizen scientists were comparable to data collected by researchers, it would allow for more efficient data collection over a broad geographic area. Here, we compare the quality of data on bat activity collected by citizens (high school students and teachers) and researchers. Both researchers and citizen scientists used the same comprehensive instructions when choosing study sites. We found no differences in total bat activity minutes recorded by citizens and researchers. Instead, citizen scientists collected data from a wider variety of habitats than researchers. Involvement of citizens also increased the geographical coverage of data collection, resulting in the northernmost documentation of the Nathusius pipistrelle so far in Finland. Therefore, bat research can benefit from the use of citizen science when participants are given precise instructions and calibrated data collection equipment. Citizen science projects also have other far-reaching benefits, increasing, for example, the scientific literacy and interest in natural sciences of citizens. Involving citizens in science projects also has the potential to enhance their willingness to conserve nature.

scholarly journals Proyectos de ciencia ciudadana. Una oportunidad para la alfabetización científica y la educación en sostenibilidad

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilia López-Iñesta ◽  
Miguel Ángel Queiruga-Dios ◽  
Daniel García-Costa ◽  
Francisco Grimaldo
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Scientific Literacy ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Interest In Science ◽  
Science Projects ◽  
Development Goals

Since the term citizen science emerged, projects involving citizens in science have increased in number and spread to a variety of areas. Citizen science is thus emerging as a mechanism for involving society, stimulating the population's interest in science and contributing to their scientific literacy. Furthermore, we must highlight the inherent contribution of citizen science projects to the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper reviews some examples of international citizen science projects and details active projects in Spain, from the perspective of both formal and non-formal education.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document