Social Media as a Platform for a Citizen Science Community of Practice

Liberatore, Andrea; Bowkett, Erin Nicole; MacLeod, Catriona J.; Spurr, E. B.; Longnecker, Nancy

doi:10.5334/cstp.108

Cited by 85 publications

(89 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…They note that experienced users can take over more advanced roles, for example, as moderators filtering questions and notifying the science team if the community cannot answer a question by itself. In another study, Liberatore et al (2018) analysed what they refer to as "communities of practice" in a Facebook group administered by researchers. The authors found that the users "used the group to share excitement, ideas, and knowledge about New Zealand garden birds …" (Liberatore et al 2018: 11).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tagging, Pinging and Linking – User Roles in Virtual Citizen Science Forums

Rohden

Kullenberg

Hagen

et al. 2019

Citizen Science: Theory and Practice

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This article investigates user roles in virtual citizen science projects through a case study of the Talkforum of Shakespeare's World, a humanities project on the Zooniverse platform. To address collective knowledge production, we study the use of hashtags, pinging, and linking as a way of differentiating how researchers, moderators, and different user groups use the forum according to their roles. We show how both volunteers and researchers have a much deeper interest in the texts that they transcribe and actively seek contextual information, shape new lines of inquiry, and discover new phenomena. We conclude that the use of online forums in citizen science can play a crucial role for extending the knowledge production from academic research to a wider public interest, and also provide new knowledges beyond the assigned task of transcribing documents.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tagging, Pinging and Linking – User Roles in Virtual Citizen Science Forums

Rohden

Kullenberg

Hagen

et al. 2019

Citizen Science: Theory and Practice

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“…This increased usage overlaps with the recent and exponential growth of social media and the willingness of people to share photographs via image-sharing applications and internet communities (Barry 2014). This growth mirrors the development of modern citizen science over the same time span (Bonney, Cooper & Ballard 2016;Liberatore, et al, 2018). With the peak year for publications being 2016, it will be compelling to observe how this trend continues to grow over the next decade with the further evolution of Web 2.0 applications and portable smart devices that enable people to collaborate and share information online (Levin, et al, 2015;Orsi & Geneletti 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…The potential to rapidly engage large numbers of geographically and temporally dispersed individuals to crowdsource environmental data sets using smart-phones, GPS enhanced applications, and SNSs is the essence of modern citizen science practice (Bonney, et al, 2009;Dickinson, Zuckerburg & Bonter 2010;Eitzel, et al, 2017;Liberatore, et al, 2018;Silvertown 2009). Recruiting, motivating, and retaining participants is however widely acknowledged as a major issue for many citizen science programs (Bonney, et al, 2009;Franzoni & Sauermann 2014;Liberatore, et al, 2018;Sauermann & Franzoni 2015;West & Pateman 2016). Tourism is among the largest sectors in the global economy and demand for varied and exotic ecotourism experiences is a significant driver of that demand (Balmford, et al, 2009;Holden 2016;UNWTO 2017).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Expanding the profile and scope of citizen science, increasing community participation, and innovatively leveraging available technologies are common themes in the citizen science theory and practice literature (Bonney, et al, 2009;Bonney, Cooper & Ballard 2016;Eitzel, et al, 2017;Franzoni & Sauermann 2014;Liberatore, et al, 2018;Soleri, et al, 2016). Access to the Web 2.0 internet, the development of portable smart devices, and the proliferation of software applications and content for mobile computing have facilitated the explosive growth of modern citizen science in the opening decades of the 21st-century (Dickinson, Zuckerberg & Bonter 2010;Hampton, et al, 2011;Huertas & Marine-Roig 2015;Nemec Rudež & Vodeb 2015;Silvertown 2009; van Dijck 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Preprint: Crowdsourcing and Analysing Wildlife Tourism Data from Photographs Shared on Social Media

Walker¹,

Simpson²,

Teo³

et al. 2019

Preprint

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The first two decades of the 21st-century have seen the emergence of the modern citizen science movement, increased demand for niche eco and wildlife tourism experiences, and the willingness of people to voluntarily share information and photographs online. To varying extents, the rapid growth of these three phenomena has been driven by the availability of portable smart devices, access to the Web 2.0 internet from almost anywhere on the planet, and the development of applications and services, including social media/networking sites (SNSs). In addition, the number of peer-reviewed publications that explore how text and images shared on SNSs can be data-mined for academic research has surged in recent years. This systematic quantitative review has two goals. The first goal is to provide an oversight of how the photographs that ecotourists share online are contributing to wildlife tourism research. The second goal is to promote the emerging photovoice technique as a theoretical context for social research based on the photographs and comments that ecotourists share on SNSs. From the perspectives of community benefits, conservation behaviours, and environmental education, there are many similarities between authentic ecotourism experiences and quality ecological citizen science programs. Much of the literature regarding the theory and practice of citizen science reports on the difficulties of attracting, training, motivating and retaining community members. The synthesis of this review is that crowdsourcing wildlife and tourism data from comments and photographs that ecotourists share on SNSs is a credible method of research that provides a self-replenishing pool of citizen scientists.

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“…In conservation biology, however, the emphasis has been on practical applications (Theobald et al, 2015) and here, citizen science is usually defined as activities that engage the public or stakeholders in research design, data collection, or interpretation together with scientists (Paul et al, 2018). Online citizen science research engages volunteers from various backgrounds in collecting data about species occurrence and ecology and reporting them online (Cooper, Dickinson, Phillips, & Bonney, 2007; Devictor, Whittaker, & Beltrame, 2010; Dickinson et al, 2010; Donnelly, Crowe, Regan, Begley, & Caffarra, 2014; Liberatore, Bowkett, MacLeod, Spurr, & Longnecker, 2018). This type of research can be effective in coordinating networks of local stakeholders, including members of the general public, to monitor biodiversity, leading to improved outcomes, and greater buy‐in by local communities (Donnelly et al, 2014; McKinley et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are social media reports useful for assessing small ape occurrence? A pilot study from Peninsular Malaysia

Rameli

Lappan

Bartlett

et al. 2020

American J Primatol

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Citizen science‐based research has been used effectively to estimate animal abundance and breeding patterns, to monitor animal movement, and for biodiversity conservation and education. Here, we evaluate the feasibility of using social media observations to assess the distribution of small apes in Peninsular Malaysia. We searched for reports of small ape observations in Peninsular Malaysia on social media (e.g., blogs, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, iNaturalist, etc.), and also used online, radio, print messaging, and word of mouth to invite citizen scientists such as birders, amateur naturalists, hikers, and other members of the public to provide information about small ape observations made during their activities. These reports provided new information about the occurrence of all three species of small apes (Hylobates agilis, Hylobates lar, and Symphalangus syndactylus) in Peninsular Malaysia. Social media users reported observations of small apes in almost every state. Despite the fact that small apes are believed to occur primarily in the interior of large forested areas, most observations were from fairly small (<100 km2) forests near areas of high traffic and high human population (roads and urban areas). This suggests that most outdoor enthusiasts primarily visit well‐traveled and easily accessible areas, which results in biased sampling if only incidental observations reported on social media are used. A more targeted approach specifically soliciting reports from citizen scientists visiting large, less‐accessible forests may result in better sampling in these habitats. Social media reports indicated the presence of small apes in at least six habitats where they had not been previously reported. We verified the reported data based on whether reports included a date, location, and uploaded photographs, videos and/or audio recordings. Well‐publicized citizen science programs may also build awareness and enthusiasm about the conservation of vulnerable wildlife species.

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Social Media as a Platform for a Citizen Science Community of Practice

Cited by 85 publications

References 42 publications

Tagging, Pinging and Linking – User Roles in Virtual Citizen Science Forums

Tagging, Pinging and Linking – User Roles in Virtual Citizen Science Forums

Preprint: Crowdsourcing and Analysing Wildlife Tourism Data from Photographs Shared on Social Media

Are social media reports useful for assessing small ape occurrence? A pilot study from Peninsular Malaysia

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