Citizen science is a growing reality in today’s fast paced world. Museums and research institutions are chronically underfunded at the same time that the need for knowledge and solutions grow, especially in terms of the abundance of environmental issues that we are currently facing. While this lack of funding is concerning, it has also paved the way for exciting opportunities for citizens, with or without higher education degrees, to participate in scientific studies. Let’s take a look at the ins and outs of this newfound “science” along with its pros and cons.
What is citizen science?
This divergence from traditional science research conducted by members of society with masters degrees and Ph.Ds is known as public participation in scientific research (PPSR). PPSR follows the process of scientific investigations—members of the public participate in asking questions, collecting data, and interpreting results. Usually, PPSR studies focus on questions that require data to be collected over long periods of time or wide-ranging geographic areas. Depending on the complexity of the study, scientists will train citizen volunteers to ensure consistency and accuracy in the data collection process. In recent years, many peer-reviewed, scientific articles have been published that contain data collected by volunteers and action plans that have been derived from that data. Citizen science, as well as volunteer monitoring and other forms of organized research conducted by members of the community, falls under the PPSR umbrella.1
There are five models for PPSR studies, which vary based on degree of citizen participation. These models are:2
- Contractual project – A community has a specific question they would like to be answered and they ask researchers to conduct a scientific investigation and report on the results.
- Contributory project – The researchers design the scientific investigation and the citizens are the primary data collectors.
- Collaborative project – The researchers design the scientific investigation and the citizens collect data, as well as help with project design and data analysis.
- Co-created projects – Researchers and citizens work together to design the scientific investigation and at least some of the citizens are involved in all other steps of the process.
- Collegial contributions – Non-credentialed citizens conduct a scientific investigation independently with varying degrees of recognition from scientists and institutions.
In order for PPSR to be effective, it is important to understand which model will best fit a specific scientific investigation.
Advantages of Citizen Science
More and more often, scientists are turning to citizen science as a way to fill in the gaps caused by lack of funding and too much data to collect. Citizen science harnesses citizens’ already existing passions and hobbies, such as , and puts their time and energy to good use. Because the group of citizens is self-selective, they are willing to put the time in to learn new facts about the particular species or ecosystem in question, as well as new monitoring skills. These involved and passionate citizens will then talk to their friends and family about their experiences with the project, and therefore educate their friends and family about the issue.3
Disadvantages of Citizen Science
Over 25% of Americans over the age of 50 engage in . Many of these birdwatchers are collecting data for specific studies that they contribute to. The older age of many birdwatchers makes one wonder: does age impact the accuracy of data collection?4
Bird watching in particular relies heavily on a sharp sense of hearing, especially when attempting to spot high-pitched songbirds. A recent study found that birdwatchers over 50 had a more difficult time detecting 13 (out of 43) songbird species than volunteers under the age of 40 during surveys for the Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Ontario. However, the results showed that the 13 species that older volunteers struggled with were not on the high-pitch end of the spectrum. Researchers believe that other side effects of aging, such as impaired eyesight and slower reaction time, play a role in the decreased proficiency of older volunteers.5 Nonetheless, researchers maintain that while age should be considered in PPSR project design, older volunteers are often extremely valuable due to their decades of experience out in the field identifying birds. Often, researchers will call a volunteer to double-check data if they notice that certain bird species have dropped out of that volunteer’s data but are still appearing in neighboring areas.6 The next question we must ask is what will the younger generations bring to the table, will they be reliable to take up the bird surveying responsibilities?
https://web.archive.org/web/20160404072638if_/http://www.youtube.com/embed/lL5tPNn5X48 ii
The Future of Citizen Science
Much of the future of citizen science depends on to what degree the scientific community accepts citizen science results as legitimate. At what point do highly trained citizen scientists get bored of simply tallying birds for scientists and want a larger role? This is where the five models of PPSR are so essential. The wide-ranging degree of participation that citizens can have in a project will keep citizen science relevant and exciting for members of the public. However, it will be interesting to see as time goes on how many scientists are actually willing to give citizens important roles in their investigations.7
