CMU LibGuides: Citizen Science: Resources for Instructors

Search Terms

Citizen science is just one term used to identify research and projects that incorporate the public in scientific research. This can make it difficult to locate scholarly and non-scholarly information on the subject. Here are some of the search terms you may try when exploring the topic:

Citizen Science
Community Science
Participatory science
Civic science
Crowdsourcing
Community-based participatory research
Participatory action research

For more information:

Citizen Science Terminology Matter: Exploring Key Terms
Eitzel, M. V., Cappadonna, J. L., Santos-Lang, C., Duerr, R. E., Virapongse, A., West, S. E., … Jiang, Q. (2017). Citizen Science Terminology Matters: Exploring Key Terms. Citizen Science: Theory and Practice, 2(1), 1. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/cstp.96

Media on the Instructional Applications of Citizen Science

Articles on Using Citizen Science in Instruction

Assessing Citizen Science Participation Skill for Altruism or University Course Credit: A Case Study Analysis Using Cyclone Center
"Can participation in citizen science projects be used as coursework with real practical experiential-learning benefits, without affecting the citizen science project outcomes? We seek to begin to answer this question via a case study analysis with Cyclone Center (CC), which asks participants to classify tropical cyclone characteristics through analysis of infrared satellite imagery."
Benefits and challenges of incorporating citizen science into university education
They developed "a teaching strategy that combined citizen science with inquiry-based learning to offer first year university students an authentic research experience," through a six-year partnership between the Australian phenology citizen science program ClimateWatch and biology students from the University of Western Australia.
Current Approaches in Implementing Citizen Science in the Classroom
Discusses current approaches and motivations to integrating citizen science into K-12 and higher education classrooms.
Incorporate Citizen Science into your Higher Ed Course
From citizenscience.org, this article features a number a webinars to offer help incorporating citizen science into your curriculum.
Learning and the transformative potential of citizen science
After reviewing the literature on citizen science and social‐learning literature and examining 14 conservation projects across Europe, they developed a template that "can be used to explore learning arrangements (i.e., learning events and materials) in citizen science projects."
A New Trend in Media and Library Collaboration within Citizen Science? The Case of ‘A Healthier Funen’
This case study explores the results of a partnership between a university, a university hospital and a regional broadcaster in Funen, Denmark, who collaborated on a citizen science project entitled “A Healthier Funen”.