Article
Environmental Sciences
Diana Boaventura, Ana Teresa Neves, Jaime Santos, Paula Colares Pereira, Cristina Luis, Antonio Monteiro, Alexandra Cartaxana, Stephen John Hawkins, Maria Filomena Caldeira, Antonio Ponces de Carvalho
Summary: This study evaluated the effectiveness of educating elementary school students on Ocean Literacy and climate change, and found that interdisciplinary science activities and citizen science actions significantly increased students' knowledge and skills. The study highlights the importance of addressing Ocean Literacy and climate change through formal and non-formal educational activities with an investigative nature.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Education & Educational Research
Osnat Atias, Yael Kali, Ayelet Shavit, Ayelet Baram-Tsabari
Summary: School-based citizen science allows students and teachers to collaborate with scientists in various aspects of research, but most projects offered to schools are of the contributory type, focusing mainly on data collection. This study explores the potential of such projects to create more equitable power relations and meaningful participation between schools and scientists. The analysis of think-aloud data from nine pairs of teachers and scientists suggests that a sense of reciprocity, where both sides are acknowledged contributors, can emerge in these collaborations. Factors influencing this reciprocity and its implications for democratizing and changing power relations in school-based citizen science are discussed.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Matthew Taylor, Aidan Davison, Andrew Harwood
Summary: This study highlights the importance of collaborative socio-ecological research for wildlife management on private lands. By integrating the local ecological and social knowledge of landholders with the expertise of researchers and practitioners, this research approach can enhance wildlife conservation efforts and address the threats posed by climate change, invasive species, and habitat loss.
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Biology
Corey T. Callaghan, Alistair G. B. Poore, Thomas Mesaglio, Angela T. Moles, Shinichi Nakagawa, Christopher Roberts, Jodi J. L. Rowley, Adriana VergEs, John H. Wilshire, William K. Cornwell
Summary: Citizen science is playing an increasingly important role in biodiversity research, but is underrepresented in current research papers. Three frontiers of citizen science research are proposed, including sampling undersampled areas, utilizing the unique abilities of citizen science, and reducing biases in global biodiversity data sets. The contribution of citizen science to understanding key biodiversity questions should be fully realized.
Article
Environmental Studies
Carla-Sophie Wichmann, Daniel Fischer, Sonja Maria Geiger, Daniela Honorato-Zimmer, Katrin Knickmeier, Katrin Kruse, Anna Sundermann, Martin Thiel
Summary: This study examines the impact of participation in a CSP on PMD on Chilean schoolchildren's problem perception and personal involvement, and finds that participation in environmental CSPs alone does not lead to significant behavior changes, highlighting the need for auxiliary educational activities in the project design.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Tahlia Perry, Alan Stenhouse, Isabella Wilson, Imma Perfetto, Michael W. McKelvey, Michelle Coulson, Rachel A. Ankeny, Peggy D. Rismiller, Frank Grutzner
Summary: The short-beaked echidna, an iconic Australian animal, faces threats such as habitat loss, roads, and invasive species. To gather more information about echidnas Australia-wide, the Echidna Conservation Science Initiative (EchidnaCSI) was established, engaging the public in citizen science research. This project successfully collected a significant amount of echidna data through public participation, demonstrating the potential of citizen science approaches for research on cryptic species.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Review
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Michael O'Grady, Eleni Mangina
Summary: This paper explores the adoption of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) principles in citizen observatories. The results indicate a relatively simple but uneven and shallow adoption, which may reflect the ongoing evolution of RRI and the citizen observatory model. It is recommended that various actors integrate, promote, and report on how RRI principles are reflected in their activities.
Article
Microbiology
Erica R. Fuhrmeister, Jennifer R. Larson, Adam J. Kleinschmit, James E. Kirby, Amy J. Pickering, Carol A. Bascom-Slack
Summary: The emergence of antimicrobial resistance is a defining crisis of the 21st century, with the development of new antimicrobials lagging behind the threat posed by resistant bacteria. The prevalence and diversity of resistant bacteria in the environment, and their risks to humans, remain poorly understood. Global environmental surveillance is crucial in predicting and targeting efforts to prevent the spread of antimicrobial resistance.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Sinja Dittmann, Tim Kiessling, Linda Mederake, Mandy Hinzmann, Doris Knoblauch, Marianne Boehm-Beck, Katrin Knickmeier, Martin Thiel
Summary: Engaging the general public in research processes through citizen science allows for innovative scientific studies and makes science accessible. The citizen science program Plastic Pirates investigated plastic pollution of rivers and used communication strategies to achieve scientific and educational goals. Some challenges included time constraints, delayed data analysis, and limited personnel resources. Recommendations for citizen science practitioners include regular communication, using various channels, and providing feedback to participants.
FRONTIERS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Jianjun Gu, Lin Tang, Xiaohong Liu, Jinlei Xu
Summary: This study aimed to promote students' learning engagement through the flipped classroom approach. The results showed a significant improvement in students' learning engagement (behavioral, cognitive, and emotional) after three rounds of iterative experiments. Several principles were provided as guidelines for instructors to implement the flipped classroom approach to promote students' learning engagement.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
Lala Hajibayova, L. P. Coladangelo, Heather A. Soyka
Summary: This study contributes to understanding citizen science by examining collaborative scientific communication and methods as a key component of theoretically driven projects. The findings demonstrate the application of diverse research methodologies to explore individual participation in science projects, including incentives and motivation. Citizen science research primarily focuses on natural and behavioral sciences, such as environmentalism, climate change, and motivations for becoming citizen scientists.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Anya N. Metcalfe, Theodore A. Kennedy, Gabriella A. Mendez, Jeffrey D. Muehlbauer
Summary: Scientists worldwide are increasingly collaborating with the general public through citizen science methods, which have been proven effective in freshwater research. However, there are challenges in project planning and implementation, and citizen science also plays a significant role in shaping public understanding, policy, and management of freshwaters.
WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS-WATER
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Rebecca Bright, Elaine Ashton, Cristina Mckean, Yvonne Wren
Summary: This paper presents the development of a novel application for collecting and analyzing young children's story retell narratives. The app utilizes mobile technology to gather language samples from children, and a citizen science approach is used to encourage participation. Trained research associates complete transcription and analysis of the language samples, and an algorithm is used to analyze narrative macro-structure elements.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Luigi Ceccaroni, Sasha M. Woods, Egle Butkeviciene, Stephen Parkinson, James Sprinks, Pedro Costa, Stefan G. H. Simis, Gennadi Lessin, Sonia Linan, Berta Companys, Elisabet Bonfill, Jaume Piera
Summary: Human activities degrade various water bodies. Expanding ocean and water literacy in schools can achieve generational change in society's role in protecting water resources.
Article
Management
Susanne Beck, Tiare-Maria Brasseur, Marion Poetz, Henry Sauermann
Summary: Scientists are increasingly involving the general public in their research, particularly in empirical work. However, it is unclear how the public can be involved in conceptual stages such as formulating research questions. This study analyzes data from two crowdsourcing projects in the medical sciences and finds that crowd contributions mainly restate problems, providing little guidance in terms of potential causes or solutions. Nevertheless, crowd-generated research questions frequently combine elements from different fields and have comparable practical impact. Professional evaluations suggest that crowd contributions have lower novelty and potential scientific impact than professional research questions, but outperform them when selection mechanisms are applied.