Citizen science - in researching biodiversity

Summary

The transcript delves into the concept of citizen science, emphasizing its evolution from data collection to a collaborative approach that empowers individuals and enhances scientific research. It highlights the multi-tiered involvement of citizens, from simple sensors to full research collaborators, and the benefits it brings to both science and society. Citizen science is portrayed as a catalyst for transformative learning, fostering a deeper understanding of our interconnectedness with the environment and potentially democratizing knowledge for societal and policy impact.

Takeaways

• 🌐 Citizen science is a rapidly evolving field that involves the public in the creation of knowledge alongside scientists.
• 🔍 It's not just about collecting data; citizen science aims to generate new knowledge and develop new methods while empowering citizens.
• 👥 The involvement of citizens can range from simple data gathering to full collaboration in all research steps.
• 📊 Professional scientists can benefit by gaining insights from large datasets and unique qualitative data provided by citizens.
• 🤝 Scientists can learn from citizens' perspectives, leading to improved conflict resolution and understanding of diverse viewpoints.
• 💡 Citizens can provide specific knowledge that may open new avenues for scientific investigation.
• 🤖 Enhancing collaboration and participation skills is a key outcome for scientists engaging in citizen science.
• 🌟 Improved visibility and acceptability of science in policy-making can result from transparent and open research practices.
• 🌿 Citizen science can increase ecological literacy and observational skills among participants.
• 🔬 It can also deepen the understanding of the nature of scientific work among the public.
• 🧠 Transformative learning, a shift in awareness about our interconnectedness, is a potential societal benefit of citizen science that is yet to be fully explored.

Q & A

What is the concept of citizen science as described in the script?

Citizen science is an approach where the public participates in scientific research, not just by gathering data but also by contributing to knowledge generation, devising new methods, and empowering themselves in the process.

How does citizen science aim to benefit both the scientific community and the public?

Citizen science benefits the scientific community by providing large datasets and unique qualitative data, leading to new insights and improved collaboration skills. For the public, it enhances ecological literacy, observation skills, and understanding of scientific work, potentially contributing to transformative learning.

What are the different levels of citizen involvement in science as mentioned in the script?

The levels are crowdsourcing, where citizens act as sensors; distributed intelligence, where they interpret data; participatory science, where they help define problems; and extreme citizen science, where they collaborate in all research steps.

How can professional scientists benefit from analyzing data collected by citizens?

Scientists can improve their knowledge and comprehension by analyzing the large datasets and qualitative data collected by citizens, leading to new insights into problem-solving and understanding different perspectives.

What is transformative learning and how does it relate to citizen science?

Transformative learning is a deep, structural shift in awareness that changes our view of interconnectedness between the natural environment and the human community. Citizen science can foster this by contributing to society's transformative learning.

How can citizen science influence the policy field and societal interactions?

Citizen science can make research more transparent, open, and socially inspiring, potentially leading to better visibility and acceptability of science in policy-making and improved science-society-policy interactions.

What unique knowledge might citizens possess that could benefit scientific research?

Citizens may hold specific, useful knowledge that can open up new avenues for investigation, which professional scientists might not be aware of or able to access.

What skills might scientists improve through collaboration with citizens in citizen science projects?

Scientists can improve their collaboration and participation skills, as well as their ability to mix different methods in resolving conflicts and understanding diverse perspectives.

Why is it important to understand the nature of citizen science in an interdisciplinary way?

Understanding citizen science in an interdisciplinary way is crucial to unlock its full potential, including fostering democratization of knowledge, improving science-society-policy interactions, and advancing well-being for all.

How can citizen science contribute to a general democratization of knowledge and learning?

By involving citizens in scientific research and empowering them with knowledge and skills, citizen science can democratize access to and understanding of scientific processes and findings.

What challenges might exist in exploring the precise nature of transformative learning through citizen science?

The challenges include the need for interdisciplinary research, understanding the complex interplay between scientific work and societal impact, and identifying how citizen science can effectively promote transformative learning.

Outlines

00:00

🌐 Citizen Science: A New Approach to Knowledge Creation

The script introduces the concept of citizen science as a rapidly evolving field that involves ordinary people in the process of knowledge generation. It explains that citizen science is more than just data collection; it's about empowering citizens to contribute to scientific research in various ways, from acting as sensors to full collaboration in research steps. The benefits for professional scientists include improved knowledge through large datasets and qualitative insights, learning to integrate diverse methods, and enhancing collaboration skills. The script also highlights the potential for citizen science to increase ecological literacy, observation skills, and understanding of scientific work among participants, as well as contributing to society's transformative learning and the democratization of knowledge.

Keywords

💡Citizen Science

Citizen Science is an approach that involves the active participation of ordinary people in scientific research, not just in data gathering but in the entire research process. In the video, it is described as a method that can generate new knowledge, empower citizens, and contribute to the democratization of science. This concept is central to the video's theme, illustrating how non-professionals can significantly impact scientific discoveries, particularly in fields like biodiversity research.

💡Knowledge Co-Creation

Knowledge Co-Creation refers to the collaborative process where scientists and citizens work together to create new knowledge. The video highlights this concept as a rapidly emerging and challenging aspect of modern science, where the combination of professional expertise and citizen input can lead to innovative solutions and approaches. It emphasizes the value of collective intelligence in enhancing scientific understanding and societal well-being.

💡Biodiversity Research

Biodiversity Research is the study of the variety of life in different ecosystems. In the context of the video, it is presented as an area where citizen science can be particularly effective. By involving citizens in data collection and analysis, biodiversity research can benefit from broader observations and a deeper understanding of ecological systems, which in turn can lead to more informed conservation efforts.

💡Crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing in citizen science refers to the involvement of a large number of people, often through digital platforms, to contribute data or insights. The video explains it as the most basic level of citizen participation, where individuals act as 'sensors' by collecting data. This concept underscores the power of collective effort in gathering large datasets that can significantly advance scientific research.

💡Distributed Intelligence

Distributed Intelligence is a step beyond crowdsourcing, where citizens not only gather data but also interpret it. The video introduces this concept as a more advanced form of citizen involvement, where participants contribute to the analysis of scientific data, thus adding depth and nuance to research findings. This highlights the evolving role of citizens from passive data collectors to active contributors to scientific knowledge.

💡Participatory Science

Participatory Science involves citizens in defining research problems and methodologies. According to the video, this form of citizen science allows individuals to have a say in what is being studied and how the study is conducted. It represents a higher level of engagement where citizens' insights and experiences shape the direction of scientific inquiry, fostering a more inclusive approach to research.

💡Extreme Citizen Science

Extreme Citizen Science is the most comprehensive level of citizen involvement, where participants are engaged in every step of the research process. The video describes this as a collaborative approach where citizens help to design the study, collect data, analyze results, and even contribute to the final conclusions. This concept illustrates the ultimate goal of citizen science—to make scientific research a truly collaborative and democratic endeavor.

💡Transformative Learning

Transformative Learning is a deep, structural shift in awareness that changes how individuals perceive their relationship with the natural environment and society. The video suggests that citizen science can lead to transformative learning by fostering a greater understanding of ecological systems and the interconnectedness of life. This concept is crucial as it ties the educational benefits of citizen science to broader societal changes and the potential for a more informed and engaged public.

💡Ecological Literacy

Ecological Literacy refers to the understanding of ecological systems and the ability to interpret the natural environment. In the video, it is mentioned as one of the benefits citizens can gain from participating in science. By engaging in biodiversity research or other scientific endeavors, citizens enhance their knowledge of ecosystems, which can lead to more sustainable behaviors and a deeper appreciation of nature.

💡Democratization of Knowledge

The Democratization of Knowledge is the process of making scientific knowledge accessible to a broader audience, involving them in the creation and dissemination of this knowledge. The video highlights this as one of the ultimate promises of citizen science—transforming research into an open, transparent process that benefits society as a whole. This concept is key to understanding how citizen science can bridge the gap between science and society, leading to better science-society-policy interactions.

Highlights

Knowledge co-creation through citizen science is a rapidly emerging field.

Citizen science involves ordinary people in scientific research beyond just data collection.

The primary goal of citizen science is to generate new knowledge and empower citizens.

Citizen involvement in science can range from simple data collection to full collaboration in research.

Professional scientists can benefit from citizen science by gaining new insights and improving collaboration skills.

Citizen science can lead to the democratization of knowledge and contribute to better science-society-policy interactions.

Citizens can increase their ecological literacy and observational skills through participation in citizen science.

Participating in citizen science helps citizens understand the nature of scientific work.

Citizen science may contribute to transformative learning, leading to a shift in awareness about interconnectedness.

Transformative learning in citizen science is still an unexplored area with great potential.

Interdisciplinary understanding is needed to unlock the full potential of citizen science.

Citizen science can make scientific research more transparent, open, and socially inspiring.

Citizen science can improve the visibility and acceptability of science in policy-making.

Citizens can provide unique qualitative data that enhances scientific research.

Citizen science can help scientists learn from different perspectives and methods.

Citizen science has the potential to advance a wider well-being for all mankind through better science-society-policy interactions.

The precise nature of transformative learning in citizen science needs further exploration.

Transcripts

Our world is changing rapidly

and one of the new and challenging things is knowledge co-creation

in the form of citizen science.

So, what is it?

It's an approach that's been researched only recently in detail.

We usually think it's about ordinary people helping scientists gather data,

but it can be much more than this.

Its goal is to generate new and legitimate knowledge, and to devise new approaches

and methods while empowering citizens.

So how can it be used in researching biodiversity?

Citizens' involvement in science happens on different levels.

At crowdsourcing, citizens act as simple sensors.

Higher up, they become distributed intelligence, now interpreting data as well.

In participatory science, they also assist in defining the problem.

And finally, in extreme citizen science, they collaborate in all the steps of research.

There are many advantages to this approach, and professional scientists can learn a great deal.

They can improve their knowledge and comprehension by analyzing the large data sets

and the unique qualitative data collected by citizens.

They can also arrive at new insights into how to mix different methods in resolving conflicts,

or understanding perspectives that don't understand theirs.

They may learn that citizens are holders of specific, useful knowledge,

and this may open up other venues for investigation.

And inevitably, scientists will improve their skills for collaboration and participation.

All this may result in the better visibility and acceptability of science in the policy field.

It can change research into a transparent, open, and socially inspiring endeavor.

However, let's see the big picture.

Citizen science benefits citizens as well.

They can increase their ecological literacy, hone their observation skills,

or learn to use instruments.

They are also likely to understand the nature of scientific work.

But it doesn't stop here: it may also influence society as a whole

by contributing to its transformative learning.

What is transformative learning?

It's a deep, structural shift in awareness that changes how we view our interconnectedness

among the natural environment and the human community.

However, the precise nature of this is still unexplored.

We need to understand it in an interdisciplinary way

or the greatest promises of citizen science will stay unlocked;

we may never see that it can foster a general democratization of knowledge and learning,

thus contributing to better science-society-policy interactions,

potentially advancing a wider well-being for all mankind.