Citizen Science
Definition: Citizen science refers to projects that actively involve the general public in the scientific endeavour, with the goal of democratizing science. Citizen scientists can be involved in all stages of research, acting as collaborators, contributors or project leaders. An example of a major citizen science project involved individuals identifying astronomical bodies (Lintott, 2008).
Alternative definition: In the past, citizen science mostly referred to volunteers who participate as field assistants in scientific studies (Cohn, 2008, p. 193).
Related terms: Crowd science, Crowdsourcing
References: Cohn (2008), European Citizen Science Association (2015), & Lintott (2008)
Drafted and Reviewed by: Mahmoud Elsherif, Ana Barbosa Mendes, Gisela H. Govaart, Tamara Kalandadze, Dominik Kiersz, Charlotte R. Pennington, Robert M. Ross