Power of the people: A review of citizen science programs for conservation

Highlights

• Consistent definitions, protocols are needed to improve the citizen science field.

• Citizen science provides benefits to participants, scientists, society, environment.

• Challenges relate to economics, volunteer management, data analysis.

• Experimental design, data management, data sharing are key areas to plan carefully.

• Best practices for developing and running projects are discussed.

Abstract

Citizen science is a rapidly growing field whereby volunteers can collect and/or analyze data to contribute to research and gain an appreciation for the environment. There are countless programs currently underway around the world: some have clear scientific hypotheses being tested and others are simple data gathering; some are designed and led at the grass-roots level while others are done by academics. This review focusses on best practices for the development and running of citizen science projects to make them successful. It includes discussion around different methods of experimental design, data collection, and analyses; how participants are recruited, engaged, and rewarded (including who participates and why); the effect of participation on the volunteer's knowledge and actions; and the impact programs have on policy and other conservation actions. While there are several challenges that projects face, and more research is needed in various areas, the many benefits support the continued expansion of citizen science projects.

Introduction

While humans have been sharing observations of the world around them for millennia (Miller-Rushing et al., 2012; Pastor, 2018; Silvertown, 2009), the domain of citizen science is a relatively new area of research and discovery. Dating to the early 1990s (Follett and Strezov, 2015; Hannibal, 2016; Irwin, 1995), citizen science is a fast-growing field covering a wide range of topics and taxa, from human microbiota (del Savio et al., 2016) to distant galaxies (Edwards and Gaber, 2014). As a newer science that is being practiced globally in different forms, with different definitions, frameworks, and protocols, it has not yet settled into a cohesive whole. Yet to fully realize the potential of citizen science, it is necessary to identify what works well and what does not, and where more research is needed to develop new techniques.

Although still young, the field of citizen science has received review articles on a wide variety of subjects. For example, new technologies (Ceccaroni et al., 2019; Newman et al., 2012), methods of data analysis (Cooper et al., 2012; Kelling et al., 2015a; Zipkin and Saunders, 2018), assessments of data credibility and quality (Aceves-Bueno et al., 2017; Freitag et al., 2016; Kosmala et al., 2016), impacts on policy (Greenwood, 2012; Hecker et al., 2018, Hecker et al., 2019), economic implications (Sauermann and Franzoni, 2015; Theobald et al., 2015) and impacts on and by volunteers (Bell et al., 2008; Firehock and West, 1995; Lewandowski and Specht, 2015; NASEM, 2018; Schuttler et al., 2018; Shirk et al., 2012) and on and by stakeholders (Sterling et al., 2017). Additionally, there have been several reviews on the impacts of citizen science on conservation efforts (Ballard et al., 2017; Chandler et al., 2016; McKinley et al., 2017; Newman et al., 2017; Poisson et al., 2020; Silvertown et al., 2013). Other reviews have been conducted on additional aspects of citizen science programs (Aceves-Bueno et al., 2017; Conrad and Hilchey, 2011; Danielson et al., 2014; Pocock et al., 2015; Sullivan et al., 2017, 2009; Wiggins and Crowston, 2011).

Governments, universities, and non-profit organizations are now coming together to support the development of common frameworks and guides (Blaney et al., 2016; Bonney et al., 2009a; Citizen Science Association, 2020; CitizenScience.gov, 2020; NEIWPCC, 2016; Socientize Consortium, 2013; Strasser et al., 2012; Tweddle et al., 2012; Wiggins et al., 2013). To maximize project resources, common challenges should be noted and avoided or addressed.

This paper provides an expanded, cohesive overview of what citizen science is, who it involves, and the reasons to use it. It covers small, in-person projects to large, online ones. It focusses on best practices for developing and running citizen science projects through the identification of common challenges faced and solutions to them, and includes suggestions on how to make projects more successful. These include areas such as experimental design, data analysis and quality control; volunteer recruitment, training, and retention; motivations for and effects of participation; data management and security; data sharing and project overlap; obtaining funding and other resources; economic, social and political controversies; project assessment and evaluation; and new technologies.