Citizen Science Addressing Challenges of Sustainability

Practices for the engagement of citizens and other research and innovation (R and I) stakeholders in science can be found aplenty in the existing literature, all along with principles, guidelines and tools providing meaningful guidance for practitioners in research funding and performing, organizations (RPFOs) and helping them achieve high quality and responsible citizen science projects addressing sustainability challenges. Such guidance, however, is scarce when it comes to setting up and running transdisciplinary citizen science eco systems, where projects can be systematically initiated by different stakeholders and carried out in a dedicated supportive environment. Based on literature review and series of semi-structured interviews with quadruple helix stakeholders in Lithuania, this paper provides a current overview of the perceptions, concerns, motivational factors, and obstacles with regard to participation in citizen science activities.

Download Full-text

Unused potential for Smart Specialization development through collaboration: Lithuanian case

Agricultural Economics (Zemědělská ekonomika) ◽

10.17221/98/2019-agricecon ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 65 (No. 10) ◽

pp. 463-469

Author(s):

Živilė Gedminaitė-Raudonė ◽

Dalia Vidickienė ◽

Rita Vilkė

Keyword(s):

Quadruple Helix ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Research And Innovation ◽

Research Findings ◽

The Will ◽

Smart Specialization ◽

Post Industrial ◽

Quadruple Helix Model ◽

Industrial Economic

Smart Specialization in this research is addressed to the use of collaboration as a tool for increasing efficiency of investment in entrepreneurship, research and innovation in a service-driven post-industrial economic system. This study provides evidence that collaboration potential is used only partly during the implementation of Smart Specialization strategy. The research illustrates given thesis by the evaluation of collaboration in Lithuanian biogas sector, which is listed among the priorities of Lithuania’s Smart Specialization strategy till 2020, using structured interviews. The main aim of this empirical research is to assess the will to collaborate in order to enhance the development of Smart Specialization and identify unused collaboration potential among all Quadruple Helix model counterparts in the biogas sector. Empirical findings show that collaboration in the Smart Specialization development has a big potential. However, this potential is used only partly because of lack of knowledge and available business infrastructure for this task and the passive role in collaboration processes of government institutions. Research findings suggest that current situation should be changed by supporting measures for business and NGOs with the aim to encourage collaborative initiatives for Smart Specialization. Research findings might serve as guidelines for policy makers, entrepreneurs, university and NGO managers.<br />

Download Full-text

Enhancing community preparedness: an inventory and analysis of disaster citizen science activities

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-019-7689-x ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Ramya Chari ◽

Elizabeth L. Petrun Sayers ◽

Sohaela Amiri ◽

Mary Leinhos ◽

Virginia Kotzias ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Citizen Science ◽

Emergency Preparedness ◽

Disaster Response ◽

Grey Literature ◽

Future Research ◽

System Response ◽

Science Projects ◽

Science Models ◽

Time Period ◽

Science Activities

Abstract Background Disaster citizen science, or the use of scientific principles and methods by “non-professional” scientists or volunteers, may be a promising way to enhance public health emergency preparedness (PHEP) and build community resilience. However, little research has focused on understanding this emerging field and its implications for PHEP. To address research gaps, this paper: (1) assesses the state of disaster citizen science by developing an inventory of disaster citizen science projects; (2) identifies different models of disaster citizen science; and (3) assesses their relevance for PHEP. Methods We searched the English-language peer-reviewed and grey literature for disaster citizen science projects with no time period specified. Following searches, a team of three reviewers applied inclusion/exclusion criteria that defined eligible disasters and citizen science activities. Reviewers extracted the following elements from each project: project name and description; lead and partner entities; geographic setting; start and end dates; type of disaster; disaster phase; citizen science model; and technologies used. Results A final set of 209 projects, covering the time period 1953–2017, were included in the inventory. Projects were classified across five citizen science models: distributed or volunteer sensing (n = 19; 9%); contributory (n = 98; 47%); distributed intelligence (n = 52; 25%); collaborative research (n = 32; 15%); and collegial research (n = 8; 4%). Overall, projects were conducted across all disaster phases and most frequently for earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes. Although activities occurred globally, 40% of projects were set in the U.S. Academic, government, technology, and advocacy organizations were the most prevalent lead entities. Although a range of technologies were used, 77% of projects (n = 161) required an internet-connected device. These characteristics varied across citizen science models revealing important implications for applications of disaster citizen science, enhancement of disaster response capabilities, and sustainability of activities over time. Conclusions By increasing engagement in research, disaster citizen science may empower communities to take collective action, improve system response capabilities, and generate relevant data to mitigate adverse health impacts. The project inventory established a baseline for future research to capitalize on opportunities, address limitations, and help disaster citizen science achieve its potential.

Download Full-text

Increasing research impact with citizen science: The influence of recruitment strategies on sample diversity

Public Understanding of Science ◽

10.1177/0963662519840934 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 28 (5) ◽

pp. 606-621 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Stijn Brouwer ◽

Laurens K. Hessels

Keyword(s):

Citizen Science ◽

Research Impact ◽

Recruitment Strategy ◽

Recruitment Strategies ◽

Water Research ◽

Research And Innovation ◽

Science Projects ◽

Strategy Versus ◽

The Impact ◽

Insight Into

Despite the fact that citizen engagement in research is widely practised and regarded as one of the keys to maximizing the impact of research and innovation, empirical evidence on the value, potential and possibilities of engaging a broad diversity of citizens in practice is scant. The purpose of our article is twofold: (1) to provide more insight into the value and opportunities of engaging audiences that typically are not engaged with science and (2) to explore the effect of a targeted recruitment strategy versus a generic recruitment strategy on the profile, motivation and retainment of citizen science volunteers. Our empirical research is based on five citizen science projects in the domain of surface and drinking water research in the Netherlands. This article finds that using a targeted recruitment strategy, it is possible and worth to recruit a diverse sample of citizen science volunteers.

Download Full-text

What Motivates Volunteers to Engage in Health-Related Citizen Science Initiatives? A Case Study of Our Outdoors

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17196950 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (19) ◽

pp. 6950 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Elizabeth Lehman ◽

Ruth Jepson ◽

John McAteer ◽

Daryll Archibald

Keyword(s):

Citizen Science ◽

Social Connectedness ◽

Well Being ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Personal Learning ◽

Active Involvement ◽

Science Projects ◽

Making A Difference ◽

Health Related ◽

Health And Well Being

Citizen science is increasing in popularity but remains largely located in the disciplines of environmental and natural sciences. However, it has the potential to be a useful tool in other disciplines such as health. The aim of this study was to identify the factors for involvement (or non-involvement) in health-related citizen science projects using the Our Outdoors citizen science initiative as an example. Our Outdoors aims to understand how urban and rural shared outdoors spaces (e.g., parks, lakes, rivers, beaches) can affect human health and well-being (both positively and negatively). Understanding the motivations for involvement in such a program is likely to be useful for increasing participation rates and involvement. Qualitative research methods were used in this study in which semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 participants from two community projects in Scotland, United Kingdom. A thematic analysis revealed five key themes pertaining to the factors that motivated engagement with health-related citizen science projects such as Our Outdoors. These include enhancing social connectedness; personal learning development; making a difference in the community; gaining health and well-being benefits; and finally, demotivating factors relating to time constraints and the term “citizen science”. This study concludes that emphasising motivating factors in the promotional material for health-related citizen science projects may increase recruitment and the active involvement of participants. Similarly, reducing the presence of demotivating factors and considering the use of the term “citizen science” is likely to encourage participation

Download Full-text

Citizen Science on Twitter: Using Data Analytics to Understand Conversations and Networks

Future Internet ◽

10.3390/fi12120210 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (12) ◽

pp. 210

Author(s):

Suvodeep Mazumdar ◽

Dhavalkumar Thakker

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Citizen Science ◽

Large Scale ◽

Term Study ◽

The Public ◽

Long Term Study ◽

Science Projects ◽

Using Data ◽

Science Activities

This paper presents a long-term study on how the public engage with discussions around citizen science and crowdsourcing topics. With progress in sensor technologies and IoT, our cities and neighbourhoods are increasingly sensed, measured and observed. While such data are often used to inform citizen science projects, it is still difficult to understand how citizens and communities discuss citizen science activities and engage with citizen science projects. Understanding these engagements in greater depth will provide citizen scientists, project owners, practitioners and the generic public with insights around how social media can be used to share citizen science related topics, particularly to help increase visibility, influence change and in general and raise awareness on topics. To the knowledge of the authors, this is the first large-scale study on understanding how such information is discussed on Twitter, particularly outside the scope of individual projects. The paper reports on the wide variety of topics (e.g., politics, news, ecological observations) being discussed on social media and a wide variety of network types and the varied roles played by users in sharing information in Twitter. Based on these findings, the paper highlights recommendations for stakeholders for engaging with citizen science topics.

Download Full-text

Citizens, Scientists, and Enablers: A Tripartite Model for Citizen Science Projects

Diversity ◽

10.3390/d13070309 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (7) ◽

pp. 309

Author(s):

Rhian A. Salmon ◽

Samuel Rammell ◽

Myfanwy T. Emeny ◽

Stephen Hartley

Keyword(s):

Case Studies ◽

Nature Of Science ◽

Citizen Science ◽

Public Engagement ◽

Science Communication ◽

Tripartite Model ◽

Science Project ◽

Science Projects ◽

Emerging Issues ◽

Citizen Science Project

In this paper, we focus on different roles in citizen science projects, and their respective relationships. We propose a tripartite model that recognises not only citizens and scientists, but also an important third role, which we call the ‘enabler’. In doing so, we acknowledge that additional expertise and skillsets are often present in citizen science projects, but are frequently overlooked in associated literature. We interrogate this model by applying it to three case studies and explore how the success and sustainability of a citizen science project requires all roles to be acknowledged and interacting appropriately. In this era of ‘wicked problems’, the nature of science and science communication has become more complex. In order to address critical emerging issues, a greater number of stakeholders are engaging in multi-party partnerships and research is becoming increasingly interdisciplinary. Within this context, explicitly acknowledging the role and motivations of everyone involved can provide a framework for enhanced project transparency, delivery, evaluation and impact. By adapting our understanding of citizen science to better recognise the complexity of the organisational systems within which they operate, we propose an opportunity to strengthen the collaborative delivery of both valuable scientific research and public engagement.

Download Full-text

Citizens of the future

Science Fiction Film and Television ◽

10.3828/sfftv.2021.10 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 115-144

Author(s):

Colin Milburn ◽

Melissa Wills

Keyword(s):

Video Games ◽

Citizen Science ◽

Public Engagement ◽

Scientific Research ◽

Social Progress ◽

Responsible Innovation ◽

Science Projects ◽

Technical Innovations ◽

Research Questions ◽

Utopian Thought

Over the last decade, a variety of ‘citizen science’ projects have turned to video games and other tools of gamification to enrol participants and to encourage public engagement with scientific research questions. This article examines the significance of sf in the field of citizen science, focusing on projects such as Eyewire, Be a Martian!, Sea Hero Quest, Play to Cure: Genes in Space, Forgotten Island and the ‘Project Discovery’ experiments in EVE Online. The sf stories that frame these projects often allegorise the neoliberal assumptions and immaterial labour practices of citizen science, even while seeming to hide or disguise them. At the same time, the fictional frames enable players to imagine social and technical innovations that, while not necessarily achievable in the present, nevertheless point to a future of democratic science, social progress and responsible innovation - blips of utopian thought from the zones of crowdsourced labour.

Download Full-text

How do Players and Developers of Citizen Science Games Conceptualize Skill Chains?

Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction ◽

10.1145/3474671 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (CHI PLAY) ◽

pp. 1-29

Author(s):

Josh Aaron Miller ◽

Britton Horn ◽

Matthew Guthrie ◽

Jonathan Romano ◽

Guy Geva ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Free Recall ◽

Citizen Science ◽

Thematic Analysis ◽

Cognitive Task ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Self Reflection ◽

The Core ◽

Big Picture ◽

Prior Literature ◽

Structure Of Knowledge

For citizen science games (CSGs) to be successful in advancing scientific research, they must effectively train players. Designing tutorials for training can be aided through developing a skill chain of required skills and their dependencies, but skill chain development is an intensive process. In this work, we hypothesized that free recall may be a simpler yet effective method of directly eliciting skill chains. We elicited 23 skill chains from players and developers and augmented our reflexive thematic analysis with 11 semi-structured interviews in order to determine how players and developers conceptualize skill trees and whether free recall can be used as an alternative to more resource-intensive cognitive task analyses. We provide three main contributions: (1) a comparison of skill chain conceptualizations between players and developers and across prior literature; (2) insights to the process of free recall in eliciting CSG skill chains; and (3) a preliminary toolkit of CSG skill-based design recommendations based on our findings. We conclude CSG developers should: give the big picture up front; embrace social learning and paratext use; reinforce the intended structure of knowledge; situate learning within applicable, meaningful contexts; design for discovery and self-reflection; and encourage practice and learning beyond the tutorial. Free recall was ineffective for determining a traditional skill chain but was able to elicit the core gameplay loops, tutorial overviews, and some expert insights.

Download Full-text

The role of citizen science in addressing grand challenges in food and agriculture research

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2018.1977 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 285 (1891) ◽

pp. 20181977 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

S. F. Ryan ◽

N. L. Adamson ◽

A. Aktipis ◽

L. K. Andersen ◽

R. Austin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Urban Communities ◽

Citizen Science ◽

Food Systems ◽

The United States ◽

Food Science ◽

Grand Challenges ◽

Food Research ◽

Food And Agriculture ◽

Science Projects ◽

Agriculture And Food

The power of citizen science to contribute to both science and society is gaining increased recognition, particularly in physics and biology. Although there is a long history of public engagement in agriculture and food science, the term ‘citizen science’ has rarely been applied to these efforts. Similarly, in the emerging field of citizen science, most new citizen science projects do not focus on food or agriculture. Here, we convened thought leaders from a broad range of fields related to citizen science, agriculture, and food science to highlight key opportunities for bridging these overlapping yet disconnected communities/fields and identify ways to leverage their respective strengths. Specifically, we show that (i) citizen science projects are addressing many grand challenges facing our food systems, as outlined by the United States National Institute of Food and Agriculture, as well as broader Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations Development Programme, (ii) there exist emerging opportunities and unique challenges for citizen science in agriculture/food research, and (iii) the greatest opportunities for the development of citizen science projects in agriculture and food science will be gained by using the existing infrastructure and tools of Extension programmes and through the engagement of urban communities. Further, we argue there is no better time to foster greater collaboration between these fields given the trend of shrinking Extension programmes, the increasing need to apply innovative solutions to address rising demands on agricultural systems, and the exponential growth of the field of citizen science.

Download Full-text

Affordances and tensions in recording bird observations: how coordinators and volunteers perceive and experience citizen science in birding

Journal of Science Communication ◽

10.22323/2.20020210 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 20 (02) ◽

pp. A10

Author(s):

Helen Verploegen ◽

Wessel Ganzevoort ◽

Riyan van den Born

Keyword(s):

Qualitative Methods ◽

Data Sharing ◽

Citizen Science ◽

Qualitative Interviews ◽

Future Design ◽

Science Projects ◽

The Future

Digital citizen science projects differ greatly in their goals and design. Tensions arise when coordinators' design choices and conceptions of citizen science conflict with users' motivations and expectations. In this paper, we use a combination of qualitative methods to gain new insights into the ways citizen science is understood and implemented digitally. This includes a study into the affordances of two citizen science portals for bird observations, and qualitative interviews with users and coordinators of the portals. This reveals tensions related to data sharing, community hierarchies, and communicated expectations. Awareness of these tensions can benefit the future design of online citizen science projects.

Download Full-text