We are delighted to announce that the article entitled "An analytics approach to health and healthcare in citizen science communications on Twitter" written by Fernando Martínez-Martínez, David Roldán-Álvarez, Estefanía Martín, and H...
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Frameworks & Definitions
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CS Track paper published in conference proceedings of the STS Conference Graz 2022
We are delighted to announce that the article entitled "Inclusion and exclusion in citizen science: A matter of context" written by Michael Strähle and Christine Urban has been published in the conference proceedings of the STS Conference Graz 2022 that took place...
Research Areas in Citizen Science: One analysis of the CS Track database
One of the main objectives of CS Track project has been to realise an explorative study of CS projects in Europe, with the aim to categorize, cluster and build a database of CS projects that would allow an analysis of them. This has allowed: (1) to compile of a database of CS projects (and their corresponding CS activities) in the European Union and Associated Countries; (2) to document of a collection of these projects to explore their availability of data for further analysis following the knowledge gaps identified by the literature review.
CS Track framework for investigating citizen science
A CS Track team of researchers including Reuma De-Groot, Yaela N Golumbic, Fernando Martínez Martínez and H. Ulrich Hoppe recently published a paper entitled “Developing a framework for investigating Citizen Science through a combination of web analytics and social...
CS Track publishes paper about developing a novel framework for investigating Citizen Science
A CS Track team of researchers including Reuma De-Groot, Yaela N Golumbic, Fernando Martínez Martínez and H. Ulrich Hoppe recently published a paper entitled “Developing a framework for investigating Citizen Science through a combination of web analytics and social science methods – the CS Track perspective”. This article presents the project’s framework that aims to complement existing methods for evaluating CS, address gaps in current observations of the citizen science landscape and integrate findings from multiple studies and methodologies.
Identifying learning dimensions in CS project descriptions
Educational impacts of participation, such as the development of scientific skills or increased awareness about biodiversity and conservation, are one of the most widely discussed aspects of CS. Whereas most existing studies investigate perceived or observed learning gains of citizen scientists, this study took an alternative perspective by examining learning-related aspects in textual self-representations of CS projects—namely in project descriptions posted online. The aim was to determine which dimensions of learning are reflected most prominently in CS project descriptions.
Citizen Science Community meets in force in Berlin
The biannual ECSA conference organised under the theme Citizen Science for Planetary Health got off to a great start in Berlin on 5 October with a welcome reception in the Museum of Natural History. The surroundings, dominated by dinosaurs and other fossils was a fine...
How to write project descriptions that spark interest and attract volunteers – a 10-step guide
Over the past 18 months, several research groups within the CS Track consortium have analysed project descriptions stored in the CS Track database from different perspectives (focusing for instance on research area, correlation with the SDG framework, educational aspects etc.).
Coming to terms with the multiple possible meanings of the term CS. The Activities-Dimensions-Grid of Citizen Science, online seminar, 8 December
Online Workshop on Thursday, 8 December 2022, 14:00 – 15:00 CET Explanation of the grid. How it was developed and why., e. g. voluntary work versus influencing policies versus education versus making. How to place a CS activity. Obvious differences in potential...
What are the most pressing concerns of those working with Citizen Science in a post-pandemic world – an interview with Gitte Kragh
Gitte Kragh is a postdoc at Aarhus University, ecologist at NORDECO, co-founder of the Danish Citizen Science Network, and a Board member of the European Citizen Science Association (ECSA).
ECSA 2022, 5-8 October, Berlin, Germany
The ECSA Conference 2022 will be held from October 5-8 in Berlin, Germany. This year researchers from all disciplines, scientists, practitioners, activists, funders, policymakers, non-governmental organizations, artists, and other interested citizens worldwide...
Miriam Calvera-Isabal presents CS Track project findings in multiple occasions
Over the past few months, our colleague Miriam Calvera-Isabal (UPF) has presented the CS Track project and our research findings at different conferences and project meetings, including TEASPIL, H2O Learn and LASI Spain. She explained how CS Track has centralized...
Understanding the nature of Citizen Science in a rapidly changing world, half-day symposium, 8 October, Berlin
CS Track and ECSA teams are organising a half-day symposium under the theme "Understanding the nature of Citizen Science in a rapidly changing world" on 8 October, 9:00-13:00 CET in Berlin. This symposium aims at sharing these results and findings and discussing their...
A short introduction to the CS Track Analytics Workbench
How can we make the CS Track database of Citizen Science projects interactively accessible for the purposes of interest-driven retrieval, navigation and comparative analysis as well as for checking and correcting existing information items and adding new ones? To achieve this, we have developed the Analytics Workbench.
Expert interviews highlight citizen science benefits, pitfalls and caveats
The CS Track research team, led by partners Christine Urban and Michael Strähle from the Wissenschaftsladen Wien – Science Shop Vienna, has published a report called Conceptual Framework for Analytics Tools.
CS Track published a report about the conceptual framework for analytics tools
The CS Track research team, led by partners Christine Urban and Michael Strähle from the Wissenschaftsladen Wien - Science Shop Vienna, has published a report called Conceptual Framework for Analytics Tools. This document maps citizen science landscapes in the...
Communities in Citizen Science. Notes from the Engaging Citizen Science Conference 2022
On April 25-26, Aarhus University hosted the first major international f2f conference on Citizen Science since the beginning of the Covid 19 pandemic.
IMDEA’s views on Involving Citizens in the Circular Economy
Javier Dufour is the head of the Systems Unit and Lorena Martinez is responsible for communication and image at IMDEA Energy in Spain. The research at this Madrid-based research centre focuses on determining the sustainability of any energy system.
CS Track introduces new models for analysing citizen science activities
The CS Track team has released a new report entitled Models to identify background factors associated with the CS activity. The proposed models are used to deepen our understanding of citizen scientists’ backgrounds and their involvement in citizen science activities....
CS Track researchers to present at EASST 2022
We are delighted to announce that our team members Christine Urban and Michael Strähle (Wissenschaftsladen Wien – Science Shop Vienna) are going to be presenting at the EASST 2022 Conference (6-9, July) in Madrid, Spain. They will give a presentation entitled...
ECSA Conference 2022, Call for proposals
The 4th ECSA Conference taking place from 5-8 October in Berlin, Germany runs under the cross-cutting theme of Citizen Science for Planetary Health. The concept of planetary health is based on the understanding that human health and human civilization depend on...
Questioning the term “citizen science project”
Citizen science has, at least in Europe, turned into an umbrella term for a lot of very different practices.
The use of (not) defining Citizen Science
The term ‘Citizen Science’ has had a remarkable career in terms of scientific publications and funding schemes. Citizen science policies are either already developed or under development in many parts of the world.
RIAS gives talk at the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology on web based analytics
As a follow-up of the Analytics Workbench workshop in November 2021, the RIAS group were invited to give a talk in the speaker series on Digital Citizen Science at the prestigious Karlsruhe Institute for Technology (KIT). The presentation entitled “Web-based Analytics...
CS Track team members to present at ECSA and Engaging Citizen Science conferences
We are delighted to announce that our team members are going to be presenting at the Engaging Citizen Science (25-26 April) and ECSA 2022 (5-8 October) conferences. A poster "Individual Learning Outcomes in Citizen Science Projects" will be presented and the analytics...
CS Track introduces new framework to categorise and characterise Citizen Science activities
The CS Track research team led by Christine Urban and Michael Strähle (Wissenschaftsladen Wien - Science Shop Vienna) has recently published a new report on Citizen Science which includes an extensive literature review and consideration of Citizen Science from...
What are the boundaries of citizen science? Learning from a vignette study
Citizen science has expanded rapidly over the past decade. As a result defining citizen science and its boundaries remains a challenge, and this is reflected in the literature—for example in the proliferation of typologies and definitions. There is a need for identifying areas of agreement and disagreement within the citizen science practitioners community on what should be considered citizen science.
How do citizen science activities develop and work? Computational analysis techniques can help us find out
A cornerstone of the CS Track project’s approach to investigating how citizen science (CS) activities develop and work is the use of computational analysis techniques applied to digital sources and traces to characterise and analyse these activities in terms of interactions within certain projects, the interplay with “official” science and their interaction with society.
Who takes part in Citizen Science projects & why?
Identifying who takes part in citizen science projects and understanding what motivates them are key aspects in building our understanding of citizen science. These aspects are at the heart of a recent White Paper published by the CS Track project which highlights interest in the theme, contributing to scientific research and opportunities to learn as key factors when it comes to motivation.
Characteristics and nature of Citizen Science in Europe today
Citizen Science is changing and evolving as highlighted in the recent CS Track White Paper on Themes, Objectives and Participants. This white paper draws on the initial results of a large scale CS Track survey carried out in early 2021 which highlights an increasing use of technology, diversification in terms of themes and a re-assessment of the value that citizen science can bring to the individual as well as society as a whole.
The importance of understanding motivation in Citizen Science projects
Understanding what motivates people to take part in Citizen Science activities is important. While the reasons people give for getting involved vary greatly, research is starting to show interesting connections between the different drivers and demographics.
What technical devices/platforms are used most by Citizen Scientists in their projects?
Nowadays, there are numerous forms of technology ranging from audio recorders to smartphones as well as technological platforms, e.g., social media, that equip citizen scientists with the necessary tools to carry out their activities or projects of interest.
Characterising engagement in citizen science
Engaging a wide range of participants over time, is key to the successful operation of citizen science projects. But how can projects accomplish this? The short and perhaps simplistic answer is “know your audience” – The whole range of potential audiences your project may have.
Economic considerations in Citizen Science
Examining the role of economic considerations in Citizen Science projects may yield some surprising conclusions, for example that those considerations may not be deemed by those involved in a project as important as could be expected. Greater attention seems to be paid to non-economic factors (e.g., educational gains).
CS Track database: first statistical results
The first version of the CS Track database contains a comprehensive collection of CS projects in the European Union and H2020 Associated Countries for data extraction and further analysis. This data was collected to both analyse and better understand citizen science.
Co-creation in Citizen Science explored in Environmental Epidemiology
Research into Citizen Science projects in the field of environmental epidemiology highlights the need for more effort in sharing information about collaborative processes
Are citizen science projects multi-disciplinary research activities?
We follow a computational approach to assign research areas and categories to textual project descriptions on the web platform Zooniverse. Using this, we quantify the degree of multi-disciplinarity for 218 citizen science projects.
Reconsidering Citizen Science, a CS Track point of view
Citizen Science is an emerging field of study that expands from the social sciences, through policies and the learning sciences. Partners in our consortium have different views about this interdisciplinary field. Several aspects of these views are summarised here.
What are the predominant research areas in citizen science projects?
Are most of the citizen science projects only about environmental research? We answer this question by analysing descriptions of 218 Zooniverse projects using text analytics and identifying the predominant research area.
Evolution of academic publications in citizen science
Citizen Science incorporates the general public into scientific research and therefore we might expect it not to have a presence in academic publications. This report analyzes the evolution of scientific publications in Citizen Science.