Citizen science definition and benefits

The development of science as a paid profession is a relatively recent phenomenon, dating back to the late 19th century. That means that researchers exploring and making their observations were not professional scientists.

While the practices themselves are much older, citizen science as a term evolved in the 1990s. Alan Irwin (1995) claimed that science should serve the needs of society and empower citizens. Rick Bonney and colleagues also realised the value of data hidden in amateur naturalists’ desks and developed strategies to make them usable for research (Brossard et al. 2005). However, it was not until 2012 that the term became renowned globally, thanks to a steep rise in the number of publications, projects, and funding schemes. 

Why is it difficult to define citizen science? Since citizen science is developing rapidly and the discussions about definitions and criteria are so lively, we have avoided narrowing this down to a single definition. 

Haklay et al. (2021) collected from influential actors and documents 34 definitions of citizen science and indicate what citizen science is: it includes a notion of a public that participates in an activity called scientific research: the generation of scientific data, engages volunteers over a large area, and addresses a politically relevant issue. Haklay et al. recognize that “there is an inherent challenge in providing an exhaustive definition of citizen science encompassing the many different purposes and approaches applied to even more diversified contexts. Practitioners and policymakers need to understand these differences to navigate and support the full breadth of opportunities available in and through citizen science” (Haklay et al., 2021).

Citizen science is a flexible concept that can be adapted and applied within diverse situations and disciplines.  Specifically, citizen science is when the public voluntarily helps conduct scientific research.

"Citizen Science is the involvement of the non-academic public in the process of scientific research – whether community-driven research or global investigations" (citizenscience.org)

One of the earliest citizen science projects: the Christmas Bird Count

The earliest documented citizen science project is probably the Christmas Bird Count. Frank Chapman started the Christmas Bird Count in December 1900 as an alternative to the traditional Christmas hunt. Since then, it has become the main source of scientific data on trends in the status of North American bird species. The current methodology involves volunteers working in teams to carry out coordinated counts within a 15-mile radius over one day during Christmas. The data collected through the Christmas Bird Count can be freely downloaded from the Audubon website. Volunteers can analyse and help collect the Observatory's data if they wish.

Modern citizen science differs from its historical form in that it is now an activity that is open to all, not just a privileged few.

Citizen science is essentially a direct product of successful science communication or public engagement. In the age of digital networked technologies, researchers have a wealth of channels through which to disseminate their work to wider non-academic audiences. Whereas research has been traditionally disseminated narrowly via conference papers, research articles, and book publications, researchers now can use blogs, social media, video-hosting sites, and a wide range of social digital networks to target and broaden their dissemination activities.

Benefits of Citizen Science

Figure adapted from: http://www.buergerschaffenwissen.de/sites/default/files/grid/2017/11/20/handreichunga5_engl_web.pdf

Mass collaboration allows research to be carried out on a long-term, global scope that could never be done by one scientist alone.

References:

Haklay, M., Dörler, D., Heigl, F., Manzoni, M., Hecker, S., & Vohland, K. (2021). What Is Citizen Science? The Challenges of Definition. In: Vohland, K. et al. The Science of Citizen Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58278-4_2

Strasser, B. J., Baudry, J., Mahr, D., Sanchez, G., & Tancoigne, E. (2019). ‘Citizen science’? Rethinking science and public participation. Science and Technology Sciences, 32(2), 52–76. https://doi.org/10.23987/sts.60425