These slides are from a keynote talk at the Esri Education User Conference in 2016, about citizen science and extreme citizen science, and their link to geographical technologies
2. Acknowledgement
This talk would not be possible without the generosity of
the many people and communities that we have worked
with over the years…
3. Acknowledgement
… and the funders, project partners, and sponsors that we’ve
worked with (and will work with in the future)
4. Outline
• Citizen science – why now?
• Citizen science today: across disciplines, technologies,
and levels of engagement
• Pushing citizen science to the extremes
• Learning & creativity in citizen science
• Over to you!
5. Citizen Science (OED 2014)
citizen science n. scientific work undertaken by members of the
general public, often in collaboration with or under the direction of
professional scientists and scientific institutions.
citizen scientist n. (a) a scientist whose work is characterized by a
sense of responsibility to serve the best interests of the wider
community (now rare); (b) a member of the general public who
engages in scientific work, often in collaboration with or under the
direction of professional scientists and scientific institutions; an
amateur scientist.
6. Citizen Science & Science
Early science
(1600’s – early 1800’s)
Professional science
(late 1800’s – 1900’s)
Opening Science
(since 2000s)
7. Citizen Science & Science
Early science
(1600’s – earl 1800’s)
Professional science
(late 1800’s – 1900’s)
Opening Science
(since 2000s)
Illiteracy
Basic to
High-school
Higher
Education
8. Citizen Science & Science
Early science
(1600’s – early 1800’s)
Professional science
(late 1800’s – 1900’s)
Opening Science
(since 2000s)
Illiteracy
Basic to
High-school
Higher
Education
Citizen Science
as Gentlemen/
Gentlewomen
science
Mary Anning (1799-1847)
10. The era of professional science
• Involvement continued: archaeology, astronomy, ornithology,
conservation, meteorology …
• No recognition, views of volunteers as ‘untrustworthy’
contributors
Shoemaker-Levy 9 on 17 May 1994
11. Why Now?
• Societal trends:
– Education and qualifications
– Leisure
– Sharing economies / peer production systems
• Technological trends:
– Internet access (broadband)
– Collaborative Web
– Mobile devices
– DIY electronics
21. Citizen Science & Science
Early science
(1600’s – early 1800’s)
Professional science
(late 1800’s – 1900’s)
Opening Science
(since 2000s)
Illiteracy
Basic to
High-school
Higher
Education
Citizen Science
as Gentlemen/
Gentlewomen
science
Citizen Science
diminishing
Citizen Science as
open & inclusive
science
22. Citizen Science Today
Haklay, M., 2013, Citizen Science and Volunteered Geographic Information – overview and typology of
participation in Crowdsourcing Geographic Knowledge
Citizen Science
Long running
Citizen Science
Ecology &
biodiversity
Meteorology Astronomy
Citizen
Cyberscience
Volunteer
computing
Volunteer
thinking
Passive
Sensing
Community
Science
Participatory
sensing
DIY Science Civic Science
23. A new era of citizen science
Haklay, M., 2013, Citizen Science and Volunteered Geographic Information – overview and typology of
participation in Crowdsourcing Geographic Knowledge
Citizen Science
Long running
Citizen Science
Ecology &
biodiversity
Meteorology Astronomy
Citizen
Cyberscience
Volunteer
computing
Volunteer
thinking
Passive
Sensing
Community
Science
Participatory
sensing
DIY Science Civic Science
24. Biodiversity/Ecology
Participating in Big Garden
Bridwatch (source: RSPB)
Participating in BioBlitz (source: OPAL, Esri)
Kerski, J., 2016, Mapping BioBlitz Field Data in ArcGIS Online Esri GIS Education Community Blog
26. Astronomy
Using an app to learn
about the importance
of dark skies – and
about the stars
27. A new era of citizen science
Haklay, M., 2013, Citizen Science and Volunteered Geographic Information – overview and typology of
participation in Crowdsourcing Geographic Knowledge
Citizen Science
Long running
Citizen Science
Ecology &
biodiversity
Meteorology Astronomy
Citizen
Cyberscience
Volunteer
computing
Volunteer
thinking
Passive
Sensing
Community
Science
Participatory
sensing
DIY Science Civic Science
31. A new era of citizen science
Haklay, M., 2013, Citizen Science and Volunteered Geographic Information – overview and typology of
participation in Crowdsourcing Geographic Knowledge
Citizen Science
Long running
Citizen Science
Ecology &
biodiversity
Meteorology Astronomy
Citizen
Cyberscience
Volunteer
computing
Volunteer
thinking
Passive
Sensing
Community
Science
Participatory
sensing
DIY Science Civic Science
42. Participation in citizen science
• Collaborative science – problem
definition, data collection and analysis
Level 4 ‘Extreme/
Up-Science’
• Participation in problem definition
and data collection
Level 3 ‘Participatory
science’
• Citizens as basic interpreters
Level 2 ‘Distributed
intelligence’
• Citizens as sensors
Level 1
‘Crowdsourcing’
Haklay. 2013. Citizen Science and volunteered geographic information: Overview
and typology of participation, Crowdsourcing Geographic Knowledge
Haklay, M., 2013, Citizen Science and Volunteered Geographic Information – overview and typology of
participation in Crowdsourcing Geographic Knowledge
43. Extreme Citizen Science
Extreme Citizen Science (ExCiteS) is a situated,
bottom-up practice that takes into account local
needs, practices and culture and works with broad
networks of people to design and build new devices
and knowledge creation processes that can transform
the world.
Creating technologies that are designed to be
embedded within participatory processes.
53. What Citizen Science offers?
• Learning to volunteer for a wider goal (contribute to
science)
• Awareness of environmental and scientific issues
• Education in science, technology, engineering &
mathematics
• Developing new skills and insights
• Linking studies to place and local community
• Adapting to different types of learning
54. What do they learn?
1. Task/game mechanics
2. Pattern recognition
3. On topic learning
5. Off topic knowledge and skills
4. Scientific process
6. Personal development
Participation
as volunteer
Source: Laure Kloetzer, University of Geneva
See citizencyberlab.eu
55. Rich diversity:
• A taxonomy on learning outcomes
in citizen science projects
• 3 mains categories:
1. personal development,
2. generic knowledege &
skills,
3. project-specific knowledge
and skills
Source: Laure Kloetzer,
University of Geneva
59. Other opportunities
• Join the Citizen Science Association, or the European
Citizen Science Association – both have education
working groups
• Link to local or national projects (e.g. eBird, iNaturalist,
CoCoRHaS)
• Check citizenscience.gov and SciStarter.com
• Let’s talk more in the unconference session (Tuesday
8:30am)
60. Conclusions
• Citizen science has grown dramatically over the past
decade
• With suitable effort, it is possible to engage people at
all levels, and all stages of the process
• Citizen science provide ample opportunities for
creativity and learning, and geographical technologies
have a major role to play in this