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Choosing and Using Citizen Science: a Guide to When and How to Use Citizen Science to Monitor Biodiversity and the Environment

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Choosing and Using Citizen Science: a Guide to When and How to Use Citizen Science to Monitor Biodiversity and the Environment Choosing and Using Citizen Science a guide to when and how to use citizen science to monitor biodiversity and the environment Acknowledgements We would like to thank the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) for funding this guide and Claire Campbell at SEPA for her enthusiasm and guidance. We thank the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology for providing support during the guide’s production and to Heather Lowther and Amanda Hill for their superb contribution to its design. Finally thank you to the volunteers and citizen science enthusiasts who have inspired this guide. Citation Pocock, M.J.O., Chapman, D.S., Sheppard, L.J. & Roy, H.E. (2014). Choosing and Using Citizen Science: a guide to when and how to use citizen science to monitor biodiversity and the environment. Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. The Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) is a world-class research organisation focussing ISBN: 978-1-906698-50-8 on land and freshwater ecosystems and their interaction with the atmosphere. We are a This guide is a shortened and adapted version of: Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Pocock, M.J.O., Chapman, D.S., Sheppard, L.J. Research Centre with 425 researchers and & Roy, H.E (2014). A Strategic Framework to students based at sites in England, Scotland Support the Implementation of Citizen Science and Wales. CEH tackles complex environmental for Environmental Monitoring. Final report challenges to deliver practicable solutions so that to SEPA. Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, future generations can benefit from a rich and Wallingford, Oxfordshire. healthy environment. www.ceh.ac.uk This guide can be freely distributed in its original form for non-commercial purposes. Please feel free to forward it to anyone you think will be interested. All content is copyright authors and SEPA and no images or sections of text can be extracted and used elsewhere without first The Biological Records Centre (BRC) is within obtaining permission. the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and jointly Michael J O Pocock1, Daniel S Chapman2, funded by Natural Environment Research Lucy J Sheppard2, and Helen E Roy1 Council and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee. The BRC, established in 1964, is 1 Biological Records Centre, Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, a national focus in the UK for terrestrial and Maclean Building, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, Oxfordshire OX10 8BB freshwater species recording. The BRC works 2 Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Bush Estate, Penicuik, closely with the voluntary recording community, Midlothian, EH26 0QB principally by supporting national recording schemes and societies. www.brc.ac.uk Front cover photographs: l to r - Susie Pocock; CEH; Shutterstock. ii About this guide Citizen science can be a very useful ‘tool’ for undertaking research and monitoring, while also engaging with many people. Citizen science is very diverse; there are many different ways for volunteers to get involved with real science. This diversity can be overwhelming for someone seeking to organize a citizen science activity and citizen science will not always be the most appropriate or optimal approach for undertaking scientific research or monitoring. Here we aim to provide guidance to support people considering using a citizen science approach, especially (but not necessarily Photo: Michael Pocock, CEH restricted to) monitoring biodiversity and the environment in the UK. It will help you decide whether citizen science is likely to be useful, and it will help you decide which broad approach to citizen science is most suitable for your question or activity. This guide does not cover the practical detail of developing a citizen science project. That information is provided in the ‘Guide to Citizen Science’ (Tweddle et al., 2012). iii Contents About this guide Introduction to citizen science What is citizen science? 2 The aim of this guide 2 1 Why is citizen science so popular? 3 Citizen science and its role in long-term monitoring 4 Advantages and disadvantages of a citizen science approach Advantages of a citizen science approach 5 2 Disadvantages of a citizen science approach 5 A decision framework for choosing and using citizen science Precursor to the decision framework 7 Before you choose citizen science 8 The clarity of the aim or question 8 The importance of engagement 8 The resources available 9 3 The scale of sampling 9 The complexity of the protocol 10 The motivations of participants 10 Examples of using citizen science 11 Types of data 13 The decision framework How to use the decision framework 14 Using the decision framework with a clearly defined question 14 4 Using the decision framework interactively 14 The decision framework for citizen science 15 Notes on the decision framework 18 Final thoughts on choosing and using citizen science Resources: the organisers' time 20 Resources: infrastructure and data protection 20 Validation, quality assurance and verification 21 5 Communication 21 Participant safety 22 Legislative implications 22 Conclusion 22 References and resources Introduction to 1 citizen science What is citizen science? The aim of this guide is suitable for all situations. Therefore, for someone with Citizen science is an In this guide we provide a question to answer, or a increasingly popular approach a decision framework to monitoring need to be met, it to undertaking monitoring help guide people who can be daunting to consider and scientific research. Citizen are considering whether a whether citizen science can science is defined as the citizen science approach can be used and, if so, which involvement of volunteers (i.e. contribute to their work. This citizen science approach is people who are not involved guide should help you to best. In this report we do not as part of their employment) discover: repeat the 'Guide to Citizen in science, so it has the Science' (Tweddle et al. 2012) dual benefits of making a 1. whether citizen science is which was written specifically contribution to ‘real’ science, suitable for your proposed to assist in developing and while also engaging many project, and; implementing environmental people with science. Often, 2. what type of citizen science and biodiversity citizen science, citizen science projects are set is most appropriate for you or the Citizen Science Toolkit up by ‘professional’ scientists. to adopt. (Cornell Lab of Ornithology Volunteers then contribute We believe that the decision 2013). We recommend that data to the project. Such an framework will help people to interested people consider the approach is referred to as more clearly understand the decision framework in this ‘contributory citizen science’ potential opportunities and guide, and if they conclude and this is currently very limitations of citizen science. that citizen science is relevant widely-adopted. However, This is necessary because there and worthwhile, they should there are many different is such a wide range of citizen then refer to the advice in the types of citizen science science approaches (Roy et al. 'Guide to Citizen Science'. (Roy et al. 2012) including 2012) and not every approach projects strongly shaped by the volunteer participants, so-called ‘collaborative’ and ‘co-created projects’ (Bonney et al. 2009). For projects involving environmental monitoring in which there is a clear end-use for the data, the contributory model of citizen science is usually most relevant. Photo: Lesley Deans, Clyde River Foundation 2 Why is citizen science so popular? There are many reasons why 2. Cost-effective data the data so that error can citizen science has become so collection. Citizen science be taken into account in popular in recent years: provides the potential analyses. Both approaches to collect data at much provide trustworthy data; 1. Excellent engagement. larger spatial and temporal analyses of citizen science Citizen science provides a extents and much finer data are published in way for people to engage resolutions than would the scientific literature with science and their otherwise be possible. and used in national environment. Although Even if the data could be biodiversity indicators. people’s motivation for collected through other 5. Volunteer involvement taking part in citizen means, citizen science can in science has a long science varies considerably, be a cost-effective way of history. With the increased participants often describe collecting the data while use of the term ‘citizen it as fun and providing also providing an excellent science’, volunteer-led a way to contribute to opportunity for people environmental monitoring something important to become engaged with that has been going on and valuable. a subject. for decades is now often 3. Technological advances described as ‘citizen make promotion science’. We can learn and data collection from the successes of past straightforward. Over activities in developing the past decade, advances current projects. in technology, especially 6. Diversity of approaches. in communications Different types of citizen technology, have made it science appeal to different easy to set-up and promote people, e.g. expert citizen science projects. volunteers, interested Data collection, via community stakeholders websites or smartphones, is or members of the now a standard approach general public. 'Mass and relatively inexpensive participation’ approaches to implement. Feedback are popular, but so are to participants can be approaches to engage provided quickly and easily. with expert naturalists. 4. The data can be trusted. Increasingly the
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