Open access publication of a book on citizen science with UB participation
This January, the open access book The Science of Citizen Science (Springer) has been published, a volume with the participation of more than a hundred authors from twenty-four countries. The book is the conclusion of four years of work within the COST Action on citizen science, an European programme on in which UB researchers from the OpenSystems group have taken part. The aim of this initiative is to promote creativity, scientific literacy and innovation in Europe.
This January, the open access book The Science of Citizen Science (Springer) has been published, a volume with the participation of more than a hundred authors from twenty-four countries. The book is the conclusion of four years of work within the COST Action on citizen science, an European programme on in which UB researchers from the OpenSystems group have taken part. The aim of this initiative is to promote creativity, scientific literacy and innovation in Europe.
According to Josep Perelló, director of the Research Group OpenSystems UB, member of the Instiute of Complex Systems of the UB and one of the editors of the book, “this work signals a beginning, as its curriculum-like structure gives universities and other organisations the opportunity to reflect on both the substantive contributions to research on citizen science and the societal added value of citizen science”. The OpenySystems UB researchers have contributed to a total of six chapters, exploring the topics of participation, co-creation and ethics in relation to the citizen science and the emerging field of citizen social science. To do so, they started from the pioneering pioneering work conducted by the group since 2012.
Citizen science refers to the active engagement of the general public in scientific research tasks. Many people get involved in citizen science projects to increase knowledge about animal and plant species, discover new galaxies, or verify information from remote sensing data. Citizen scientists can be involved in several stages of the scientific process, from collecting data to being part of the entire process. Citizen Science is increasingly acknowledged by the political level. On the one hand, the scientific outcomes are appreciated, and on the other hand, bebcause this research modality contributes to scientific literacy. Citizen Science plays a role in national education offensives and also in European research and innovation policy.
This book has three main sections: Citizen science as Science, Citizen Science in Society and Citizen Science in Practice. It also covers the strengths and barriers that are relevant to fulfill the many expectations this research model generates. The first section includes a chapter that “highlights the different social topics that citizen science draws attention to, as the European project CoAct, coordinated by our group, is currently exploring within the so-called citizen social science”, notes Isabelle Bonhoure, researcher at OpenSystems UB and co-author of the mentioned chapter.
Julià Vicens, former OpenSystems UB researcher, has contributed to another chapter that gives an account of both opportunities and challenges of human-machine collaboration in citizen science. Anna Cigarini, PhD candidate at OpenSystems UB and the Open University of Catalonia, contributed to two chapters that recall that “the citizen science research design process should be inclusive and adaptive and shall adopt strategies that include co-creation” and that “that citizen science also present ethical challenges”. The book closes with a final chapter written by Josep Perelló that further reflects on the future of citizen science.