Since November 2019 the international research project CS Track has been combining traditional social-science methods with web-based and computational analytics in order to systematically survey the field of Citizen Science.

Continue reading Developing citizen science: 5 evidence-based recommendations for policymakers at Citizen Science | CS Track Project.

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.

Continue reading <strong>Identifying learning dimensions in CS project descriptions</strong> at Citizen Science | CS Track Project.

We analysed 17,122 Citizen Science tweets filtered with Health keywords in order to answer the following questions: What are the most used hashtags in the e-Health discussion? Are hashtags normally used alone or alongside others on the same theme?

Continue reading How does the Citizen Science community use hashtags when discussing e-Health? at Citizen Science | CS Track Project.

In this article, we analysed linkages between tweets and SDGs in our dataset by means of classification algorithms. In addition, the network of retweets for each SDG is provided.

Continue reading How are tweets distributed for each Sustainable Development Goal within the Citizen Science Twitter community? at Citizen Science | CS Track Project.

Through this Twitter analysis it was possible to demonstrate that some SDGs are much more discussed than others among the Citizen Science community of Twitter.

Continue reading SDG discussion in the Citizen Science community of Twitter at Citizen Science | CS Track Project.

Analysing the discourse in discussion forums of CS projects can help to understand underlying patterns of collaborative knowledge creation and to identify highly engaged users. We ask the question: What can the quantitative analysis of forum data tell us about these patterns?

Continue reading The importance of the few – how a minority of power users shape most of the discourse in CS forums at Citizen Science | CS Track Project.

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.

Continue reading Expert interviews highlight citizen science benefits, pitfalls and caveats at Citizen Science | CS Track Project.

The CS Track team has released a new report entitled Models to identify background factors associated with the CS activity. It introduces how the CS Track team created 6 models with the aim of developing a deeper understanding of how different factors (e.g. gender, age, roles in CS) are associated with different forms of participation in CS activities.

Continue reading New models to help us understand patterns of participation in citizen science activities at Citizen Science | CS Track Project.

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.

Continue reading IMDEA’s views on Involving Citizens in the Circular Economy at Citizen Science | CS Track Project.

In order to better tailor our work to the needs of our different stakeholders, the CS Track team led a series of focus group discussions in September. These focus groups directly involved over 30 people coming from different stakeholder communities including policy-makers and officers, platform and support agency representatives, people interested in CS from an educational perspective and CS project leaders, participants and researchers.

Continue reading More information on replicable models – just one of the priorities for CS Track stakeholders at Citizen Science | CS Track Project.