How has the citizen science community responded to the COVID-19 pandemic? A content analysis-based study examining projects’ characteristics and activities.
Participation & Motiviation
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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...
Citizen Science in Schools: Predictors and Outcomes of Participating in Voluntary Political Research
Citizen science research has become a popular approach in youth education. Findings suggest that females are more motivated to learn from the project. Participation in the project slightly increased science interest, but not science efficacy. However, it did increase both political interest and efficacy.
CS Track project researchers to present at Austrian Citizen Science Conference 2022
We're delighted to announce that our colleagues Christine Urban and Michael Strähle (Wissenschaftsladen Wien - Science Shop Vienna) will be presenting a poster and a paper at the 7th Austrian Citizen Science Conference. The paper will tackle the issue as to why...
How social network analysis reveals significant variables in Citizen Science projects: the Chimp & See case
Chimp & See is one of the projects of the Zooniverse platform, which is one of the largest citizen science web portals, was initiated in 2015 by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. The aim of the project is to learn more about the culture, population size and demography of chimpanzees in specific regions of Africa.
Biodiversity citizen science projects: What are the benefits for the participants?
Biodiversity citizen science projects investigate, for example, which species of plants or animals exist in an area and how many individuals of each species live in that area. Such projects involve citizen scientists in identifying and monitoring biological diversity and collecting biodiversity data. With the help of citizen scientists, researchers can collect large amounts of such data that they would not be able to collect on their own. We wanted to know how citizen scientists benefit from their participation in biodiversity citizen science projects.
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.
Increased knowledge generates more positive attitudes to science by citizen science participation
Can knowledge foster positive attitudes toward science in CS projects? Research on the public understanding of science has found that the relationship between attitudes toward science and general knowledge of scientific content is only small. We investigated whether this relationship and its direction is stronger in CS projects because these projects address specific knowledge such as wildlife ecology. Our findings indicated that citizens’ knowledge about wildlife improved their attitudes toward science later on.
Knowledge building and roles in Citizen Science – findings from the CS Track survey 2021
Citizen science entails the participation of the public and professional scientists in scientific activities in order to expand scientific knowledge and understanding. This involves participants adopting different roles for completing specific tasks which can shape overall learning experiences.
Typical characteristics of citizen science (CS) participants
Citizen science (CS) activities have increasingly become diverse of both subject matter and objectives, creating diverse opportunities for people representing a variety of socio-economic backgrounds as well as experiences to come together and participate in science activities.
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.
Survey into Citizen Science Strategies and Initiatives reveals a very mixed picture
The recent JRC report on Citizen Science Strategies and Initiatives in Europe highlights the different ways in which Citizen Science is supported and understood in Europe. The results of its survey show how Citizen Science is evolving and where the main barriers to its successful implementation lie.
Citizen Science and Open Learning: A Twitter perspective
Social networks, such as Twitter, are increasingly being investigated to capture online interactive participation. Although citizen science projects have been remarkably successful in advancing scientific knowledge, it is not known whether the educational aspect is considered in citizen science projects.