CMU LibGuides: Open Science Program: Citizen Science

What Is Citizen Science?

Citizen science is the involvement of the public in scientific research – whether community-driven research or global investigations (CitizenScience.org). At the core of citizen science is the belief that science is for everyone.

The four common features of citizen science practice are:

Anyone can participate
Participants use the same protocol so data can be combined and be high quality
Data can help real scientists come to real conclusions
A wide community of scientists and volunteers work together and share data to which the public, as well as scientists, have access. (Flagg 2016)

Featured Resources

Zooniverse
The Zooniverse is the world’s largest and most popular platform for people-powered research. This research is made possible by volunteers — more than a million people around the world who come together to assist professional researchers. Our goal is to enable research that would not be possible, or practical, otherwise. Zooniverse research results in new discoveries, datasets useful to the wider research community, and many publications.
SciStarter
SciStarter is a globally acclaimed, online citizen science hub where more than 3,000 projects, searchable by location, topic, age level, etc, have been registered by individual project leaders or imported through partnerships with federal governments, NGOs, and universities. As a research affiliate of NCSU and ASU, and a popular citizen science portal, SciStarter hosts an active community of close to 100,000 registered citizen scientists and millions of additional site visitors.
CitizenScience.gov
CitizenScience.gov is an official government website designed to accelerate the use of crowdsourcing and citizen science across the U.S. government. The site provides a portal to three key components: a catalog of federally supported citizen science projects, a toolkit to assist federal practitioners with designing and maintaining their projects, and a gateway to a community of hundreds of citizen science practitioners and coordinators across government as called for in the Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science Act of 2016 (15 USC 3724).
Citizen Science Association
The Citizen Science Association (CSA) is a member-driven organization that connects people from a wide range of experiences around one shared purpose: advancing knowledge through research and monitoring done by, for, and with members of the public.
Public Lab
Public Lab is a community and a non-profit, democratizing science to address environmental issues that affect people. Public Lab was formed in the wake of the BP oil disaster.

Want more?

Follow the link to view an expanded list of citizen science resources, including media, projects, funding opportunities, and more!

Citizen Science

Citizen Science in the News

Megan Darby. (2020). Coronavirus lockdown gives a boost to citizen science projects. In Climate Home [BLOG]. Newstex.
A blog post listing citizen science projects with increased participation during the lockdown.
Charles Rotter. (2020). Citizen science at heart of new study showing COVID-19 seismic noise reduction. In Watts Up With That? [BLOG]. Newstex.
An "example of the type of role citizen seismology can play in contributing to the scientific record," the article showcases a report demonstrating that ambient seismic noise levels were reduced in many countries and regions around the world, via collaborating academic and citizen scientists.
Helena Tavares Kennedy. (2020). World’s largest citizen science initiative launched for Earth Day 2020. In Biofuels Digest [BLOG]. Newstex.
"Using mobile technology and open citizen science data, Earth Challenge 2020 empowers people globally to monitor and mitigate threats to environmental and human health in their communities."
Can Citizen Science Help Fight Misinformation and Biased News Coverage?
A new project called Public Editor asks citizen scientists to work together and vet the credibility of the news.

Open Science Program: Citizen Science

What Is Citizen Science?

Featured Resources

Citizen Science

Citizen Science in the News

Credits