Citizen silence: Missed opportunities in citizen science

Abstract Citizen science is personal. Participation is contingent on the citizens’ connection to a topic or to interpersonal relationships meaningful to them. But from the peer-reviewed literature, scientists appear to have an acquisitive data-centered relationship with citizens. This has spurred et...

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Published inBioscience Vol. 74; no. 5; pp. 319 - 321
Main Authors Hall, Damon M, Avellaneda-Lopez, Pedro M, Ficklin, Darren L, Knouft, Jason H, Lowry, Christopher
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford University Press 27.03.2024
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Summary:Abstract Citizen science is personal. Participation is contingent on the citizens’ connection to a topic or to interpersonal relationships meaningful to them. But from the peer-reviewed literature, scientists appear to have an acquisitive data-centered relationship with citizens. This has spurred ethical and pragmatic criticisms of extractive relationships with citizen scientists. We suggest five practical steps to shift citizen-science research from extractive to relational, reorienting the research process and providing reciprocal benefits to researchers and citizen scientists. By virtue of their interests and experience within their local environments, citizen scientists have expertise that, if engaged, can improve research methods and product design decisions. To boost the value of scientific outputs to society and participants, citizen-science research teams should rethink how they engage and value volunteers.
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ISSN:0006-3568
1525-3244
DOI:10.1093/biosci/biae020