Humanities – Citizen Science Today

Toward a Sociocultural Learning Theory Framework to Designing Online learning Communities in Citizen Science

Ruth Kermish-Allen and Kate Kastelein — Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:00:36 +0000

Abstract: How can sociocultural learning theory inform design principles for citizen science online learning communities to inspire local environmental action? The purpose of this article is to identify themes in sociocultural learning theory that could inform the use and development of highly collaborative online learning communities that utilize community informatics tools for citizen science to...

Do-it-yourself science is taking off – Punk science

The Economist — Tue, 01 May 2018 18:00:56 +0000

Excerpt: In 1977, in the very heavenly dawn of London’s punk-rock scene, a crude, photocopied magazine told its readers: “This is a chord, this is another, this is a third. Now start a band.” They did so by the thousand. Now that punk aesthetic has come to science. Citizen science has been around for ages—professional...

Participatory design of citizen science experiments

Enric Senabre, Núria Ferran-Ferrer, and Josep Perelló — Tue, 01 May 2018 18:00:28 +0000

Abstract: This article describes and analyzes the collaborative design of a citizen science research project through cocreation. Three groups of secondary school students and a team of scientists conceived three experiments on human behavior and social capital in urban and public spaces. The study goal is to address how interdisciplinary work and attention to social...

Citizen scientists may help save ancient Maine shell heaps

Abigail Curtis — Tue, 05 Dec 2017 19:00:14 +0000

Excerpt: Along the jagged coast of Maine, prehistoric shell middens mark spots where Maine Indians feasted on clams, shells and other seafood, then tossed aside the remains. “Midden,” to archaeologists, means the waste left behind by long-gone humans. In practice, though, these ancient garbage heaps contain a treasure trove of data that can shed light...

Narratives as a mode of research evaluation in citizen science : understanding broader science communication impacts

Constant, N. and Roberts, L. — Tue, 07 Nov 2017 19:00:08 +0000

Abstract: Science communicators develop qualitative and quantitative tools to evaluate the ‘impact’ of their work however narrative is rarely adopted as a form of evaluation. We posit narrative as an evaluative approach for research projects with a core science communication element and offer several narrative methods to be trialled. We use citizen science projects as...

At Smithsonian archaeology lab, citizen scientists work to unearth environmental history

Rachael Pacella — Tue, 05 Sep 2017 18:00:21 +0000

Excerpt: At a lab inside the 2,650-acre Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, bones are stacked on shelves, centuries-old clay smoking pipes are reassembled and imported shells once used to make buttons are stashed in a drawer. Outside the lab Wednesday, a half-dozen citizen scientists worked in the sweltering heat to uncover more artifacts and...

Editor’s Choice: Berry research project seeks Alaskan volunteer citizen scientists

Nate Bauer — Tue, 05 Sep 2017 18:00:07 +0000

Editor’s Choice: What helps people connect with science on a personal level? Insights into this question may emerge in a new, compelling project coming out of Alaska. The investigators of “Winterberry” have designed this interdisciplinary project to integrate different ways of knowing and meaning-making into more familiar forms of participatory data collection. Their motivation? Making...

European Stakeholder Round Table on Citizen and DIY Science and Responsible Research and Innovation

Tue, 01 Aug 2017 18:00:44 +0000

Excerpt: In her introduction to the round table, Dr. Katrin Vohland, Director of the Research Programme “Public Engagement with Science” and Executive Chair of the European Citizen Science Association (ECSA), reflected on the importance and challenges for CS in the current situation in Europe. Two opposing trends that can be observed: On one hand, science...

Community-based participatory research for the study of air pollution: a review of motivations, approaches, and outcomes

Adwoa Commodore, Sacoby Wilson, Omar Muhammad, Erik Svendsen, John Pearce — Tue, 01 Aug 2017 18:00:31 +0000

Abstract: Neighborhood level air pollution represents a long-standing issue for many communities that, until recently, has been difficult to address due to the cost of equipment and lack of related expertise. Changes in available technology and subsequent increases in community-based participatory research (CBPR) have drastically improved the ability to address this issue. However, much still...

Citizen science for water quality monitoring: Data implications of citizen perspectives

Ashlee Jollymore, Morgan J. Haines, Terre Satterfield, Mark S. Johnson — Tue, 01 Aug 2017 18:00:16 +0000

Abstract: Citizen science, where citizens play an active role in the scientific process, is increasingly used to expand the reach and scope of scientific research while also achieving engagement and educational goals. Despite the emergence of studies exploring data outcomes of citizen science, the process and experience of engaging with citizens and citizen-lead groups through...