Abstract: Stormwater drains are common features at city beaches. Stormwater impact from drains is well understood, but the extent and impact of dry-weather flows on water quality and therefore on swimmers is not. Traditional beach monitoring may not be sensitive or frequent enough to assess this risk from drains, and investigation of dry-weather pollution is limited by relatively slow turnaround times for laboratory analysis. This case study describes lessons learned from a trial of citizen science and water quality sensors to monitor drains for dry-weather flows. This involved the use of smartphones and data-collection platforms for community monitoring at signed drains and by trained citizen scientists. Monitoring consisted of photos, observations, and water sampling. A key lesson from the trial was how citizen science can enhance data collected by sensors or by traditional monitoring. Citizen scientists collected data that sensors could not provide on flows, such as size and colour at outlets, and whether flows reached the bay. When combined with sensor data, drains were risk profiled, with higher-risk drains investigated further. Another lesson learned was to adequately resource in-person engagement and communications to motivate and retain citizen scientists. Underestimating resources for engagement translated into less data collected. Community data from signs was a valuable addition, but could have been maximised by simplifying data collection and ensuring signs were close to where observations or photos needed to be taken. The approaches trialled and lessons learned from this project are informative for the design and delivery of similar projects. Published on 2021-09-14 09:14:38
Abstract: We used citizen science to improve understanding of population trends and behavior in the American horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) along the entire coast of Florida. First, we used 18 years of public sightings data, beginning in 2002, on horseshoe crab mating to determine which spawning locations were used most. Then, a subset of those locations was more rigorously surveyed through the Florida Horseshoe Crab Watch program. Florida Horseshoe Crab Watch, implemented in 2015 by a collaboration between the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Science (UF/IFAS), University of Florida Department of Biology (UF), and Florida Sea Grant (FSG), uses trained citizen volunteers to survey beaches with high spawning activity. Volunteers count, weigh, measure, and tag horseshoe crabs that are nesting on the shoreline. These data contribute to a nationwide mark–recapture program managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and are used in Florida to inform species management decisions and to increase general understanding of the species. We developed and adapted both phases of the research by implementing modern technology, improving survey design, and expanding geographic coverage. The quality and accuracy of public reports have improved with technological advancements. The quality of the morphological data collected by Florida Horseshoe Crab Watch volunteers was comparable to that of data collected by professional scientists. Our design can serve as a model for programs regardless of region or taxon of interest and when funding is limited but public interest is high. Published on 2021-07-14 10:32:09
Abstract: Schistosomiasis is a tropical parasitic disease affecting more than 200 million people worldwide, predominantly in Africa. The World Health Organization recently highlighted the importance of targeted control of the freshwater snails acting as intermediate hosts for the parasites causing schistosomiasis. However, because of a shortage of trained experts and resources, detailed information on spatiotemporal snail distributions, which is needed for targeted control measures, is often missing. We explore the potential of citizen science to build these much-needed datasets through fine-grained, frequent snail sampling. We trained a network of 25 citizen scientists to weekly report on snail host abundances in 77 predefined water contact sites in and around Lake Albert (western Uganda). Snail abundance, together with marked GPS locations, water chemistry parameters, and photographs of the identified snails are recorded and submitted using the freely available mobile phone application KoBoToolbox. Trained researchers then engage in remote, semi-automatic validation of the submissions, after which there is an opportunity to provide targeted feedback to the citizen scientists. Five months after the operationalisation of the network, a total of 570 reports were submitted and personalized feedback was given, resulting in lasting improvements in subsequent reporting and snail genus identification. The preliminary results show the possibility of citizen science to independently obtain reliable data on the presence of schistosome snail hosts. We therefore argue that citizen-driven monitoring on a high spatiotemporal resolution could help to generate the much-needed data to support local targeted snail control measures in remote and/or resource-limited environments. Published on 2021-07-13 11:02:36
Abstract: Citizen social science has been developing in meaning and prevalence over the past few years, building on experiences with both citizen (natural) science and established social science methods such as participatory action research. However, most of the debate is still at the conceptual level, with strong calls for more empirical insight. Here, we critically examine the promises and challenges of citizen social science, based on two small-scale, co-created and locally embedded projects on people’s relationships with urban greenspaces and community food growing, conducted as a collaboration between professional and citizen social scientists. Our findings illustrate the complexity of such research in practice and identify five dilemmas that arise from tensions between the aspirations and hopes associated with co-created citizen social science, and the pragmatic and procedural realities of citizen research in practice. We argue that citizen social science projects will have to actively engage with these in order to be successful. Published on 2021-06-16 10:45:41
Abstract: In June 2019, a landmark court decision (San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper, et al. v. Formosa Plastics Corporation, et al., hereafter referred to as the Formosa ruling) was issued in Texas, where a judge found a petrochemical company liable for violating the United States Clean Water Act. The case—initiated by a civic group—was mostly built on citizen-collected evidence involving volunteer observations of plastic pellets, powder and flakes in the water over a considerable time span. The contamination could not be proven through existing data held by competent authorities because the company never filed any record of pollution (Formosa ruling, XI.A, p. 17).1 In contrast to the majority of environmental pollution cases to date, the monitoring and data collection for this case was conducted by local residents who gathered a wealth of evidence of plastic pollution in water. Through a traditional case law and text analysis of the Formosa ruling, complemented by the analysis of surrounding communications, we explore why and how citizen-collected evidence was admitted and influenced the judge’s ruling. Although the case has some unique features, we identify possible arguments and lessons learned for other citizen-run monitoring initiatives, to strengthen their voice within environmental litigation. We close by suggesting an avenue for future research—especially in the European context, where the discussion is still in its infancy. Published on 2021-06-11 13:16:22
Abstract: As biomedical citizen science initiatives become more prevalent, the unique ethical issues that they raise are attracting policy attention. One issue identified as a significant concern is the ethical oversight of bottom-up biomedical citizen science projects that are designed and executed primarily or solely by members of the public. That is because the federal rules that require ethical oversight of research by institutional review boards generally do not apply to such projects, creating what has been called an ethics gap.Working to close this gap, practitioners and scholars have considered new mechanisms of ethical oversight for biomedical citizen science. To date, however, participants’ attitudes about ethics and oversight preferences have not been systematically examined. This information is useful to efforts to develop ethical oversight mechanisms because it provides a basis for evaluating the likely effectiveness of specific features of such mechanisms and their acceptability from the perspective of biomedical citizen scientists.Here, we report data from qualitative interviews with 35 stakeholders in bottom-up biomedical citizen science about their general ethics attitudes and preferences regarding ethical oversight. Interviewees described ten ethical priorities and endorsed oversight mechanisms that are voluntary, community-driven, and offer guidance. Conversely, interviewees rejected mechanisms that are mandatory, hierarchical, and inflexible. Applying these findings, we conclude that expert consultation and community review models appear to align well with ethical priorities and oversight preferences of many biomedical citizen scientists, although local conditions should guide the development and use of mechanisms in specific communities. Published on 2021-05-20 10:32:52
Abstract: Understanding motivations is important because appealing to and fulfilling motivations helps citizen science projects recruit and retain participants. We summarise the literature around motivations, drawing on key theories from volunteering more broadly and building on this with additional motivations identified in studies of citizen scientists. We also examine what is known about differences in motivations between demographic groups. We then report on a survey of 613 environmental citizen scientists in Great Britain; they were asked to select from a list of motivations derived from the literature. We used hierarchical cluster analysis to group respondents by types of motivations held. Two clusters were dominated by people holding Values motivations (concern for others or the environment), both of which had high proportions of older people and people identifying as from white ethnic groups. A third cluster included people with Egoism motivations (participating to learn something or further one’s career) and Values motivations. This cluster had a higher proportion of some commonly underrepresented groups than the overall sample, including younger people, people identifying as from minority ethnic groups and people in lower socioeconomic groups. Two further clusters also had higher proportions of people from minority ethnic groups than the overall sample, one dominated by those who participated because they were asked to, and the other by people who held other motivations not in our list. We use insights on participant motivations from the literature and survey to make recommendations to those wishing to recruit and retain citizen scientists, particularly those from underrepresented groups. Published on 2021-05-05 10:24:26
Abstract: Grassroots, bottom-up citizen science is a burgeoning form of public engagement with science, in which citizens mobilize scientific data to address local and global concerns. Contrary to top-down citizen science projects in which citizens collect data for experts, these grassroots initiatives typically unfold in do-it-ourselves fashion, thereby challenging formally-sanctioned, expert-centric citizen science approaches. This article illustrates these points through a comparative analysis of two potentially paradigmatic sites for environmental grassroots citizen science: Safecast (radiation pollution; Japan) and CuriousNoses (air pollution; Flanders, Belgium). These cases are selected on the basis of their anchors in local self-organized communities, with each case initiated by citizens instead of by formal institutions. Adopting a relational account of these sites as being shaped through both top-down and bottom-up imperatives, we draw out key features (defining moments, key actors, discourses, devices) in the constitution of these networks as credible, potentially influential actors in affairs of environmental governance. We introduce the notion of “citizen sciencization” as a way of understanding and exploring these processes against the backdrop of changing science-society relationships in Japan and Europe. Published on 2021-04-14 11:23:10
Abstract: Citizen science schemes enable ecological data collection over very large spatial and temporal scales, producing datasets of high value for both pure and applied research. However, the accuracy of citizen science data is often questioned, owing to issues surrounding data quality and verification, the process by which records are checked after submission for correctness. Verification is a critical process for ensuring data quality and for increasing trust in such datasets, but verification approaches vary considerably between schemes. Here, we systematically review approaches to verification across ecological citizen science schemes that feature in published research, aiming to identify the options available for verification, and to examine factors that influence the approaches used. We reviewed 259 schemes and were able to locate verification information for 142 of those. Expert verification was most widely used, especially among longer-running schemes, followed by community consensus and automated approaches. Expert verification has been the default approach for schemes in the past, but as the volume of data collected through citizen science schemes grows and the potential of automated approaches develops, many schemes might be able to implement approaches that verify data more efficiently. We present an idealised system for data verification, identifying schemes where this system could be applied and the requirements for implementation. We propose a hierarchical approach in which the bulk of records are verified by automation or community consensus, and any flagged records can then undergo additional levels of verification by experts. Published on 2021-04-13 10:55:10
Abstract: This study was conducted in a museum-based lab setting where scientists research the genetics of taste. Unlike academic labs with graduate students, the museum lab model trains volunteers (community scientists) who are (in true citizen science fashion) primarily responsible for enrolling museum guests into clinical studies; thus, they collect the bulk of the data for the research. Like most public participation in science research, the non-professional contributions have historically been largely limited to data collection; however, this study shows the power of invitations and structured opportunities for expanded participation among citizen scientists in a wider range of science practices. Through interpretive case study research, we examine how community scientists exercise agency and respond to opportunities for expanded participation in scientific practices including study design, data analysis, and dissemination of scientific findings through work on scientific articles. The case study research findings show that providing opportunities for involvement is only part of what accounts for community scientists’ expanded participation. Dialogic negotiation of participation is also necessary, through bids and responses to bids, and through proffered guidance and scaffolding. Committed involvement thus entails deep cultivation and nurturing by both the museum staff, and at times, other more knowledgeable volunteers. Expanded participation is also bolstered by one’s capacity, motives for, and satisfactions from pursuing those opportunities that align with past, present, or future interests and identifications. Such interests and identifications contribute to community scientists’ willingness to overcome barriers and time constraints when they arise. Published on 2021-04-13 10:42:09
Open Access journal
