Broadening Participation: 21st Century Opportunities for Amateurs in Biology Research

Abstract

The modern field of biology has its roots in the curiosity and skill of amateur researchers and has never been purely the domain of professionals. Today, professionals and amateurs contribute to biology research, working both together and independently. Well-targeted and holistic investment in amateur biology research could bring a range of benefits that, in addition to positive societal benefits, may help to address the considerable challenges facing our planet in the 21st century. We highlight how recent advances in amateur biology have been facilitated by innovations in digital infrastructure as well as the development of community biology laboratories, launched over the last decade, and we provide recommendations for how individuals can support the integration of amateurs into biology research. The benefits of investment in amateur biology research could be many-fold, however without a clear consideration of equity, efforts to promote amateur biology could exacerbate structural inequalities around access to and benefits from STEM. The future of the field of biology relies on integrating a diversity of perspectives and approaches—amateur biology researchers have an important role to play.

What's in a name? The paradox of citizen science and community science

“…Unlike much of the recent discourse about these terms (Bonney 2021;Cooper et al 2021;de Lange et al 2021), our findings provide empirical evidence of perceptions of those engaged in either citizen or community science. The increasing number of publications using citizen science data (Cooper et al 2014), academic journals dedicated to citizen science research, and professional societies established to share citizen science research and best practices, as well as the legal protections for citizen science (Cooper et al 2021), are all indicative that citizen science is increasingly common and accepted.…”

“…2021; de Lange et al . 2021), our findings provide empirical evidence of perceptions of those engaged in either citizen or community science. The increasing number of publications using citizen science data (Cooper et al .…”

“…Project leaders that engage members of the public that are not citizens in the country where the project takes place may, for instance, feel uncomfortable referring to their project as a citizen science project and to their participants as citizen scientists, echoing debates from the field of citizen journalism (Campbell 2015). To deviate from the potentially exclusionary nature of the term citizen science, many project leaders have rebranded their activities as community science (Bonney 2021;Cooper et al 2021;de Lange et al 2021).…”

Community Biology Labs in Practice: A Pasteur’s Quadrant Perspective

“…Survey participants were queried regarding their self-identification; 80% identified themselves as learners and 71% as scientists (Table 3). While individuals could select both categories, the cohabitation between career and amateur scientists is notable and is a distinct feature of community lab spaces and research projects [8].…”

“…Many also operate wholly or partially under the framework of "open science" which prioritizes transparency and data sharing [7], making research practices and results more accessible to the public. Community labs enable a broader range of people to have a direct, hands-on relationship with science; they achieve this by prioritizing affordability for both participants and the end-users of the research by minimizing costs [8]. Because their funding sources may be diverse (membership and course fees, grants, donations, etc.)…”