“Citizen Science”? Rethinking Science and Public Participation

Abstract

Since the late twentieth century, “citizen science” has become an increasingly fashionable label for a growing number of participatory research activities. This paper situates the origins and rise of the term “citizen science” and contextualises “citizen science” within the broader history of public participation in science. It analyses critically the current promises — democratisation, education, discoveries — emerging within the “citizen science” discourse and offers a new framework to better understand the diversity of epistemic practices involved in these participatory projects. Finally, it maps a number of historical, political, and social questions for future research in the critical studies of “citizen science”.

Toward an international definition of citizen science

“…Politicians throughout Europe understand CS as an important part of aspiring to the "democratization of knowledge production" (7) and heightening the societal relevance of publicly funded research (8). A recent historical reflection on CS attributes the term to a participatory turn in science policy and supports the claim that CS can lead to a democratization of science by turning science from a closed to an open activity (9). For example, the European Commission is currently investigating the potential of CS as an input for environmental policy making in the Knowledge Innovation Project and is supporting CS in its research funding programs (e.g., Citizens' Observatories, Responsible Research and Innovation) (10).…”

How Does Policy Conceptualise Citizen Science? A Qualitative Content Analysis of International Policy Documents

“…Hecker et al 2018b;Cooper and Lewenstein 2016). The social sciences sometimes take a more critical approach (e.g., by elaborating on the various practices and genealogies that the uniformity of term CS might obscure (Strasser et al 2018)). Nevertheless, both approaches are valued for their potential benefits.…”

Accounting for spatial varying sampling effort due to accessibility in Citizen Science data: A case study of moose in Norway

“…According to the typology of Citizen Science introduced in Strasser et al (2019), CS projects in biodiversity are regarded as "sensing" projects. It means that the role of volunteers is to collect information and submit it to a large database.…”