Citizen science

Citizen science is a term used to describe projects in which non-scientist citizens participate in gathering data, observing certain species or habitats, and collecting samples that scientists then use in a variety of research fields. Citizen scientists may participate in fields as diverse as ornithology (the study of birds) to astronomy (the study of the physical universe). The information that citizen scientists gather can help scientists understand the effects of climate change all over the world or allow them to track the numbers of a particular species over time. All this information can be extremely valuable. In addition, it is unlikely that scientists could gather all this data without the help of everyday citizens. There are also the added benefits of scientific education that such projects offer, giving citizens a better understanding of science and scientific issues that affect their lives. However, some scientists have called into question the accuracy of readings and measurements obtained by citizen scientists.

Background

Although the term citizen science is relatively new, the concept behind the term is not. As described in the introduction to her 2016 book Citizen Science: How Ordinary People Are Changing the Face of Discovery, Caren Cooper notes that science was originally carried out by ordinary people and not professional scientists. These people, usually wealthy white males, often conducted research and experiments as their hobbies rather than their full-time occupations.

Cooper traces the origin of citizen science on a large scale back to the early nineteenth century. This was when English philosopher and historian William Whewell, the man who actually coined the term scientist, arranged a huge scientific project on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean in an effort to understand the tides. In the summer of 1835, Whewell did something extraordinary for the time. He coordinated the efforts of thousands of volunteers—including sailors, harbormasters, and regular citizens—at more than 650 tidal stations in nine countries to conduct synchronized measurements of the tides according to Whewell’s specific instructions. These volunteers took measurements every fifteen minutes every day for two weeks. According to Cooper, Whewell then used the information these volunteers gathered to create maps showing how the tides moved across the Atlantic and into various ports. For his work, Whewell received the Royal Medal from the Royal Society of London in 1837.

Citizen science eventually made its way to the United States in the late nineteenth century. Wells Cooke, who was a member of the American Ornithologists’ Union (now known as the American Ornithological Society), organized volunteers to help him track the migration of birds, recording information about their movements on cards.

In 1900, the National Audubon Society, which is dedicated to the conservation of birds and other wildlife, started one of the oldest citizen science projects in the world—the Christmas Bird Count. The first bird count involved twenty-seven volunteers from the northeast, California, and even Canada. These volunteers counted ninety species during that first Christmas. In the twenty-first century, the Christmas Bird Count takes place between December 14 and January 5. The National Audubon Society says on its website that tens of thousands of volunteers in North and South America participate in the Christmas Bird Count each year. The organization claims that the information gathered by these volunteers helps scientists examine the health and status of bird populations in various regions over time, allowing them to devise conservation plans to help birds and preserve their habitats.

After the first Earth Day in 1970, more people became interested in science and how it influences their daily lives. This trend continued into the twenty-first century, as the issues of climate change and global warming began to affect people in very real ways.

Overview

In the twenty-first century, new technology has allowed more people to become citizen scientists. The Internet allows people from around the world to participate in a variety of projects, from assessing water quality in rivers to tracing weather patterns. Internet technology makes organizing volunteers and providing them with information easier than it ever has been before.

According to the 2024 article "Missed Opportunities in Citizen Science" in Bioscience, public engagement in science often results in information that is useful to scientists and meaningful experiences for participants. Volunteers may observe birds, wildlife, trees, plants, and streams in their community, providing scientists with information they would not otherwise have. The article recommends that professional scientists train citizen scientists to carefully collect data. Professional scientists should later tell them how they used their contributions to generate scientific results. The authors of the article point out that scientists often omit the second interaction, which makes citizen scientists less likely to participate in future observations. If scientists do not interact often enough with citizen scientists, they fail to connect the needs of a project with citizen scientists in a particular community, which makes them feel valued.

However, some scientists worry that citizen science projects may have flaws and biases that are not as common in professional research projects. A 2017 study from researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara, analyzed the accuracy of citizen science data through a qualitative review. The study noted that depending on the data collected some of the information obtained by citizen scientists was more variable than the data collected by professional researchers. The researchers in the 2017 study found that only between 51 and 62 percent of the comparisons of citizen science data to reference data met a minimum level for accuracy in scientific research. The researchers concluded that scientists might need to provide more supervision of volunteers to ensure that the data they collect is accurate. They also noted that scientists should keep the skill level of their volunteers in mind when designing citizen science projects to avoid giving them tasks that are too difficult.

Despite such studies, citizen science is more popular than ever before. There are even sites that allow people to sign up for projects and assist in collecting data. One such site is the Citizen Science Alliance, which brings scientists, educators, and software experts together with regular citizens to collaborate on a variety of projects. The organization’s Zooniverse web management system allows regular people to browse projects in a variety of categories, from history to medicine, and sign up to participate.

Organizations like the Citizen Science Association, which was created in collaboration with other educational and government institutions, aim to advance the field of citizen science by sharing ideas and best practices with scientists, volunteers, and educators across a variety of fields and projects. The group is also hoping to address concerns about the validity of data collected by citizen scientists by examining ethical issues within the field. The organization also hoped to provide ethics training and resources to participants.

Another issue for the burgeoning field is diversity. A 2023 article published in Citizen Science Theory and Practice explained that studies have shown a lack of diversity among participants. The authors stress the importance of diversity among citizen scientists because, without it, the perspectives of those involved are limited. They point out that few projects involving citizen scientists on global, state, and local levels collect demographic data about participants. In general, participants are from the Global North, more likely men than women, affluent, and college educated.

The report notes that citizen science projects can fill gaps in scientific education, but only if learning and diversity are built into these projects from the start. The organization also recommended that scientists and project designers build on participants’ cultural backgrounds and previous experiences to connect their prior knowledge to the tasks they will be completing as part of the citizen science project. The report suggested that projects allow for multiple kinds of participation, which might see some volunteers collecting or reviewing data online while others take part in fieldwork. In doing so, the organization hoped that scientists and designers would help to make the field of citizen science more inclusive.

Bibliography

“About.” Citizen Science Association, www.citizenscience.org/about/. Accessed 8 Jan. 2019.

Aceves-Bueno, Eréndira, et al. “The Accuracy of Citizen Science Data: A Quantitative Review.” Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, vol. 98, no. 4, Oct. 2017, pp. 278–90.

Cooper, Caren. Citizen Science: How Ordinary People Are Changing the Face of Discovery. Overlook Press, 2016.

Cooper, Caren. “Victorian-Era Citizen Science: Reports of Its Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated.” Scientific American, 30 Aug. 2012, blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/victorian-era-citizen-science-reports-of-its-death-have-been-greatly-exaggerated/. Accessed 8 Jan. 2019.

Dickinson, Janice, et al. “Citizen Science as an Ecological Research Tool: Challenges and Benefits.” Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, vol. 41, 2010, pp. 149–72.

Hall, Damon. "Missed Opportunities in Citizen Science." Bioscience, vol. 74, no. 5, May 2024, doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biae020. Accessed 20 Nov. 2024.

“History of the Christmas Bird Count.” National Audubon Society, www.audubon.org/conservation/history-christmas-bird-count. Accessed 8 Jan. 2019.

MacDonald, James. “A Scientific Look at Citizen Science.” JStor Daily, 25 Nov. 2018, daily.jstor.org/a-scientific-look-at-citizen-science/. Accessed 8 Jan. 2019.

Mervis, Jeffrey. “Citizen Science Needs to Look More Like Society, Report Says.” Science, 1 Nov. 2018, www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/11/citizen-science-needs-look-more-society-report-says. Accessed 8 Jan. 2019.

“New Report Says ‘Citizen Science’ Can Support Both Science Learning and Research Goals; Inequities in Education, Opportunities, and Resources Must Be Addressed to Meet Participants’ Learning Demands.” The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 1 Nov. 2018, www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx. Accessed 8 Jan. 2019.

Pateman, Rachel Mary and Sarah Elizabeth West. "Citizen Science: Pathways to Impact and Why Participant Diversity Matters." Citizen Science Theory and Practice, vol. 8, no. 1, 20 July 2023, p. 50, doi.org/10.5334/cstp.569. Accessed 20 Nov. 2024.

Schonbeck, Joan M. “Citizen Science.” Environmental Encyclopedia, 4th ed., vol. 1, Gale, 2011, pp. 304–306.

Strickland, Ashley. “Citizen Scientists Discover Rare Exoplanet.” CNN, 7 Jan. 2019, www.cnn.com/2019/01/07/world/citizen-science-exoplanet-discovery/index.html. Accessed 8 Jan. 2019.