Shining a light on citizen scientists
- Ingrid van Marion
- 6 days ago
- 6 min read
Three years ago, I signed up to be a participant in a citizen science project. As I’m a scientist myself, I’m well aware of the importance of providing data for the project, and I was very curious about the outcomes and what it would teach me about my lifestyle. I must admit that I was also curious about the science communication practices that the scientific experts and other stakeholders in the project would use to engage with us, the citizen scientists.
The project got off to a good start: a website with a lot of information about the goals, an online information session during which citizen scientists like myself could ask questions and receive more information, and, shortly afterwards, the equipment we needed to collect data. However, the app to track the data was not user-friendly, updates about the progress of the project were few and far in between, and I soon started to feel disconnected from the project.
When, after two years, a technician came to collect the equipment, I received a goody-bag with some presents from the project partners, which was very nice. But how the project ended and what the scientific outcomes were? I have no idea, I never received information about it. I felt invisible to the scientists when the start-up phase was over, and wondered how better science communication practices could have made a difference. I wanted to know: what can the science on science communication tell us about engagement and recognition in citizen science projects?
