Citizen Science
Citizen Science broadly refers to scientific projects that actively include non-scientists in different stages of research work. It is a way of collaborating between professional scientists and the general public or interested individuals. This cooperation enables researchers to, for instance, gather large-scale or hidden data, yet it also has an educational value – increasing knowledge and scientific interest among participants, improving their skills like responsibility, critical thinking, and problem-solving
The term Citizen Science may also be understood as the participation of professionals with tertiary education, from other disciplines in the projects that are predominantly led by natural scientists or researchers from biomedicine (as in the case of Covid-19). This describes interdisciplinary hybrid type of research where interested individuals from different backgrounds, expertise and experience, including researchers and scientists, collaborate on accomplishing a common goal.
Collection of internet portals for Citizen Science:
- EU platform for Citizen Science: https://eu-citizen.science/
- Citizen Science Association (USA): https://citizenscience.org/
- Support channel of the US Government (USA): https://www.citizenscience.gov
- Central technical library of the University of Ljubljana – Network of open science: http://www.ctk.uni-lj.si/mreza-odprte-znanosti/
Publications of IRSA members on Citizen Science:
- Adam, Fane. 2018. Citizen Science Pilot Experiment in High Schools. Innovative Issues and Approaches in Social Science. 10 (2): http://www.iiass.com/pdf/IIASS-2018-no2-art3.pdf
- Adam, Frane in Barbara Tomšič. 2018. Science at High Schools – Collaboration between Researchers and Students. Research in Social Change. 10 (2): 105 – 119. Dostopno tukaj.
