Perhaps the most elusive problem in describing CS originates from the multiple meanings of the concept itself. On a qualitative level this is evident by observing how two distinct meanings have developed in the natural- and social sciences respectively since the early to mid-1990s.
The most common conception of the meaning of CS, which in recent years has gained significant momentum in the natural sciences, originates in the type of research described by Bonney et al. who attest that “[i]n the past two decades, CLO’s [Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology] projects have engaged thousands of individuals in collecting and submitting data on bird observations” (p. 977). This practice, however, goes back at least to the 1960s and is sometimes even extended to include the National Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count, beginning in the year 1900, even if the name “citizen science” was not used until the 1990s [4 ]. In this line of research, the focal point for volunteer contributions consists of participation in observations, classification and collection of data, which in turn are used by scientists. There are important synonyms to the concept of CS in this case, including ‘community-based monitoring’ [3 (link)], ‘volunteer monitoring’ [11 (link)] and ‘participatory science’ [12 (link)], all designating the contribution of non-scientists to (primarily natural-) science.
On the other hand we find a very influential notion originating in the social sciences, as expressed in the account of Irwin’s 1995 book “Citizen Science: A Study of People, Expertise and Sustainable Development” where CS is defined as “/…/ a science which assists the needs and concerns of citizens /…/ a form of science developed and enacted by citizens themselves”[13 ]. This vision and approach has been widely adopted in the social sciences and by policy-makers, but it also describes and envisions research on health, such as in “popular epidemiology” [14 (link)]. In practice this conception of CS is understood largely as the roles of citizens as stakeholders in processes of scientifically informed decision-making.
These two major understandings do not, however, exhaust all forms of CS that are of relevance for researchers interested in this phenomenon. There is also a plethora of concepts that have been coined to describe primarily local and activist-oriented forms of CS. These are more difficult to trace via scientometric methods because the results are not published in peer-reviewed literature. Instead the data from these studies are mainly used for direct interventions in policy-making and litigations. However, such interventions are often made visible by social scientists doing research on the phenomenon of CS. For example, there are cases of activist-oriented CS were data are scientifically validated and used for legal action against polluting industries [15 (link),16 (link)], Geographical Information Systems research for promoting the rights of indigenous peoples [17 (link)] and ‘civic technoscience’ for developing affordable instruments that can be used for monitoring oil spills and green urban areas [18 (link)]. Here we also find terms such as ‘community based auditing’ [19 (link)], ‘civic science’ [20 (link)] and ‘community environmental policing’ [16 (link)], ‘street science’ [21 ] and ‘popular epidemiology’ [14 (link),22 (link),23 (link)]. Finally, there are examples of organizational studies of ‘crowd science’ [24 (link)] and policy documents describing CS as ‘Do It Yourself Science’ [25 ]. These, however, only make sporadic appearances in the scientific literature.
The most common conception of the meaning of CS, which in recent years has gained significant momentum in the natural sciences, originates in the type of research described by Bonney et al. who attest that “[i]n the past two decades, CLO’s [Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology] projects have engaged thousands of individuals in collecting and submitting data on bird observations” (p. 977). This practice, however, goes back at least to the 1960s and is sometimes even extended to include the National Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count, beginning in the year 1900, even if the name “citizen science” was not used until the 1990s [4 ]. In this line of research, the focal point for volunteer contributions consists of participation in observations, classification and collection of data, which in turn are used by scientists. There are important synonyms to the concept of CS in this case, including ‘community-based monitoring’ [3 (link)], ‘volunteer monitoring’ [11 (link)] and ‘participatory science’ [12 (link)], all designating the contribution of non-scientists to (primarily natural-) science.
On the other hand we find a very influential notion originating in the social sciences, as expressed in the account of Irwin’s 1995 book “Citizen Science: A Study of People, Expertise and Sustainable Development” where CS is defined as “/…/ a science which assists the needs and concerns of citizens /…/ a form of science developed and enacted by citizens themselves”[13 ]. This vision and approach has been widely adopted in the social sciences and by policy-makers, but it also describes and envisions research on health, such as in “popular epidemiology” [14 (link)]. In practice this conception of CS is understood largely as the roles of citizens as stakeholders in processes of scientifically informed decision-making.
These two major understandings do not, however, exhaust all forms of CS that are of relevance for researchers interested in this phenomenon. There is also a plethora of concepts that have been coined to describe primarily local and activist-oriented forms of CS. These are more difficult to trace via scientometric methods because the results are not published in peer-reviewed literature. Instead the data from these studies are mainly used for direct interventions in policy-making and litigations. However, such interventions are often made visible by social scientists doing research on the phenomenon of CS. For example, there are cases of activist-oriented CS were data are scientifically validated and used for legal action against polluting industries [15 (link),16 (link)], Geographical Information Systems research for promoting the rights of indigenous peoples [17 (link)] and ‘civic technoscience’ for developing affordable instruments that can be used for monitoring oil spills and green urban areas [18 (link)]. Here we also find terms such as ‘community based auditing’ [19 (link)], ‘civic science’ [20 (link)] and ‘community environmental policing’ [16 (link)], ‘street science’ [21 ] and ‘popular epidemiology’ [14 (link),22 (link),23 (link)]. Finally, there are examples of organizational studies of ‘crowd science’ [24 (link)] and policy documents describing CS as ‘Do It Yourself Science’ [25 ]. These, however, only make sporadic appearances in the scientific literature.
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