Planning a citizen science project

Foundations of citizen science projects

Citizen science can be adapted and applied within diverse situations and disciplines. The European Citizen Science Association (ECSA) has outlined Ten Principles of Citizen Science to guide the development and implementation of citizen science projects.

10 principles of citizen science

Citizen science projects actively involve citizens in scientific endeavour that generates new knowledge or understanding. Citizens may act as contributors, collaborators, or as project leaders and have a meaningful role in the project.
Citizen science projects have a genuine science outcome. For example, answering a research question or informing conservation action, management decisions or environmental policy.
Both the professional scientists and the citizen scientists benefit from taking part. Benefits may include the publication of research outputs, learning opportunities, personal enjoyment, social benefits, satisfaction through contributing to scientific evidence e.g. to address local, national and international issues, and through that, the potential to influence policy.
Citizen scientists may, if they wish, participate in multiple stages of the scientific process. This may include developing the research question, designing the method, gathering and analysing data, and communicating the results.
Citizen scientists receive feedback from the project. For example, how their data are being used and what the research, policy or societal outcomes are.
Citizen science is considered a research approach like any other, with limitations and biases that should be considered and controlled for. However, unlike traditional research approaches, citizen science provides an opportunity for greater public engagement and democratisation of science.
Citizen science project data and meta-data are made publicly available and where possible, results are published in an open access format. Data sharing may occur during or after the project, unless there are security or privacy concerns that prevent this.
Citizen scientists are acknowledged in project results and publications.
Citizen science programmes are evaluated for their scientific output, data quality, participant experience and wider societal or policy impact.
The leaders of citizen science projects take into consideration legal and ethical issues surrounding copyright, intellectual property, data sharing agreements, confidentiality, attribution, and the environmental impact of any activities.

Once you consider including citizen science in your research project, you should first ask whether citizen science is the best approach to answer your research question. Citizen science can significantly increase the amount of data collected as well as enhance scientific discovery and public engagement, but it is important to acknowledge that it may not always be the most suitable method. So, consider how involving volunteer participants will benefit your project and the participants themselves. To ensure success, continuous support and engagement with participants is necessary. While this can be time-consuming, it is essential; the more effort you invest, the greater the benefits for both you and your participants in citizen science.

Good Scientific Practice (GSP) also guides citizen science projects. The GSP guidelines emphasize the importance of drafting and adhering to necessary agreements, permissions, and instructions, as well as showing respect toward all parties involved in the research project. The handling and management of data are likewise essential for implementing good scientific practice: “Before data collection, agreements must be made with all partners regarding at least ownership and usage rights, handling, storage, and potential sharing of the data.”

In citizen science, it is important to plan and carry out research data management in a way that all participants can understand in practical terms – not as bureaucratic jargon. Good data management enables the creation of high-quality datasets and the validation of research results. In practice, documenting the data and its collection, as well as describing the data (metadata), are key to ensuring data quality in all research projects.

New technologies offer fresh opportunities for the future of citizen science. Mobile technology enables easier and wider data collection, as the data-gathering tool usually travels with the user. Artificial intelligence can be utilized e.g. for analyzing large datasets and ensuring data quality. For example, AI-assisted species identification can reduce the number of incorrect observations. The growing use of new technologies and the availability of reasonably priced sensors and detectors make it easier to add local environmental conditions to other observations. Additionally, virtual reality, augmented reality, and other distributed systems allow citizen scientists to access a variety of research environments, making tasks like analysis and collaborative writing more achievable.

Tips for researchers

Also, these tips can be used to plan your citizen science project:

1. Define clear objectives

2. Evaluate benefits

3. Recruit through organizations

4. Over-recruit

5. Engage the community

6. Design accessible tasks

7. Use appropriate tools

8. Ensure privacy protection and data management

In citizen science projects, special attention must be paid to the privacy of participants. Ensure that citizen scientists understand their rights and responsibilities. Follow good scientific practice and privacy laws, collecting only necessary personal data. In your data management plan, determine what data can be collected, who has rights to the collected data, and how data access rights can be secured.

9. Ensure data quality

10. Provide feedback and recognition

11. Plan for sustainability

12. Ensure open access to data

Citizen science guides

Whether you are looking to include citizen science in your research or set up a project involving citizen scientists, there are many resources out there to help you get started.

Guide to Citizen Science – developing implementing and evaluating citizen science to study biodiversity and the environment in the UK (Tweddle et al., 2012). Although this guide was published some years ago, it still offers valuable insights and practical advice for planning citizen science projects across various scientific disciplines. So, please take the time to review it.
Citizen science for all – A guide for citizen science practitioners (Pettibone et al., 2016)
Kansalaistieteen opas tutkijalle (Citizen science guide for a researcher) (Svahn et al., 2022, National Open Science and Research Coordination, Federation of Finnish Learned Societies, NB: now available in Finnish only)
Citizen Science Skilling for Library Staff, Researchers and the Public (LIBER, 2021)
Citizen Science Starter Kit – Online Citizen Science Training Materials (Veeckman et al., 2023)
CitieS Health Citizen Science toolkit (CitieS Health project)

Citizen science platforms

Citizen science platforms connect volunteers with research projects that benefit from large-scale data collection, analysis, or observation. Here are some examples:

Zooniverse is the world’s largest and most popular platform for citizen science, enabling millions of volunteers to contribute to real scientific research across a wide range of disciplines.
iNaturalist is a global, nonprofit citizen science platform and social network that allows people to record, share, and learn about biodiversity by documenting observations of plants, animals, fungi, and other organisms in nature. iNaturalist data is openly available.
EU-Citizen.Science (ECS Platform) is an online knowledge and community hub designed to support and promote citizen science across Europe. The platform was developed under the EU Horizon 2020 programme.
SciStarter is a globally recognized online hub for citizen science that connects people of all backgrounds with opportunities to participate in scientific research. For citizen scientists, SciStarter helps to discover and join projects that match personal interests. For researchers, the platform offers tools to recruit, train, and retain volunteers, and to manage data collection and engagement. There are also age-appropriate activities and resources for integrating citizen science into classrooms.

Remember:

If you are planning a citizen science project, several perspectives must be considered. You can use this chart and checklist (Fig. 8) to help you to plan a citizen science project.

Project task:
Before beginning: Define the research question based on a hypothesis or social problem. Define the benefits of using citizen science.
First steps: Establish the project team. Develope concrete project goals.
Planning phase: Determine the research design and methods. Who should participate? Calculate resource requirements. Develop a communication strategy, data protocols and training material. Test and adapt methods (during planning phase and data collection).
Data collection: Collect, visualise and analyse of data. Give feedback to participants.
Communication and discussion: Publish and present results.
Evaluation: Evaluate the quality of the scientific results, and the process and benefits for all.

Checklist:
Is there a clear research question?
What is the advantage of using a citizen science approach?
Are the necessary skills and interests represented?
How long should the project take?
What resources are required?
How can participants be motivated?
What are the benefits for participants?
Do participants need training and if so, how?
How will the project be evaluated?
What infrastructures are required?
Where and how will data be (permanently) stored?
What licences will be used for data/photos/reports?
Who is responsible for communicating with participants?
How will the results be published and what is the target audience?
How can participants' role be made visible?
What criteria must be fulfilled so that the project can be considered a success? — Fig. 8. How to plan a citizen science project and questions to consider. CC BY-SA Pettibone et al.

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You have now completed module 2.

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Module 3: Open access publishing >