Editor’s Choice: This work makes an excellent case for strategic interplay between citizen science projects and monitoring biodiversity by remote sensing. By combining the power of each method, greater gains can be made on critical biodiversity and conservation goals. –LFF– Abstract: To meet collective obligations towards biodiversity conservation and monitoring, it is essential that the world’s governments and…
Abstract: Recent freshwater policy reforms in New Zealand promote increased community involvement in freshwater decision making and management. Involving community members in scientific monitoring increases both their knowledge and their ability to discuss this knowledge with professionals, potentially increasing their influence in decision-making processes. However, these interactions rarely occur because, in particular, of perceptions that…
Abstract: Ecological and environmental citizen-science projects have enormous potential to advance scientific knowledge, influence policy, and guide resource management by producing datasets that would otherwise be infeasible to generate. However, this potential can only be realized if the datasets are of high quality. While scientists are often skeptical of the ability of unpaid volunteers to…
Abstract: Recent years have seen a surge in online collaboration between experts and amateurs on scientific research. In this article, we analyse the epistemological implications of these crowdsourced projects, with a focus on Zooniverse, the world’s largest citizen science web portal. We use quantitative methods to evaluate the platform’s success in producing large volumes of…
Editor’s Choice: This article is an excellent overview for a dedicated issue of 20 articles in Biological Conservation on the ever-expanding role of citizen science in that arena. Section 5 in particular has some thoughtful recommendations on next steps. — LFF — Abstract: Research taking place at the intersection of conservation and citizen science holds great potential…
Abstract: The use of citizen science to address global and local environmental challenges will depend on demonstrated evidence that it can lead to meaningful contributions to science, management, and social action. Systematic evaluation of citizen science projects is important yet lacking to date. We developed an evaluation tool and used it to conduct a meta-analysis…
Editor’s Choice: To succeed in producing high-quality science, citizen science efforts must account for potential bias from human input – even if it is to understand which factors relate to improved performance to increase efficiency. This article is a great example of this type of study with the interesting result that predicted efficiency gains from local knowledge…
Abstract: This study investigated STEM hobbyists, some who engaged in citizen science projects related to their hobby and some who did not, with the goal of understanding how science hobbies develop over the lifespan. One of the long-range goals of science education is to develop individuals who are knowledgeable about science concepts, processes and understand…
This introduction points to the second issue of the Journal of Science Communication’s special series on citizen science. The first had much of interest, and this looks like an interesting one too. — CJL — Abstract: This issue forms Part II of JCOM’s collection of articles and essays exploring the field of citizen science. Here…
Abstract: BACKGROUND: The language of “participant-driven research,” “crowdsourcing” and “citizen science” is increasingly being used to encourage the public to become involved in research ventures as both subjects and scientists. Originally, these labels were invoked by volunteer research efforts propelled by amateurs outside of traditional research institutions and aimed at appealing to those looking for more…