CITIZEN SCIENCE: EXPANDING THE SCIENTIFIC PYRAMID

Citizen Science, a term that is used to describe a range of activities from public engagement in scientific discourse to collaborative work with scientists, enjoys long and distinguished standing in the annals of scientific achievement and social structure. From Newton and Halley's Royal Society with its network of mostly amateur scientists to the likes of Jefferson, Franklin, and Adams across the pond, science inquiry was embraced as the supreme expression of human reason and unabashedly woven into all aspects of human achievement and citizenship. Continuing in that tradition and spurred on by low-cost distributing, computing, and peer-to-peer networking systems, today's citizen scientists have increased opportunities to contribute resources, time, and effort in support of scientific research. The success being achieved with several major research initiatives illustrates that even complex professional tasks, previously done only by highly trained and paid professionals, can be reorganized to tap into a pool of interested and trained volunteers.

Research over the past decade has begun to question conventional approaches for enhancing scientific literacy. Efforts to improve science knowledge have not resulted in wide-spread understanding of science or support for scientific findings. Studies show that when science knowledge is conveyed to the public it is frequently viewed as the purview of the privileged, understood by only a few and irrelevant to the needs of many. Instead of implementing broad public education programs that show little change in individuals' understanding and behavior, social scientists argue that the focus would be better placed on engagement strategies that get citizens involved in science. The difference between being informed about science and being involved in science can be seen in effective projects where volunteers partner with scientists. Exemplary citizen science programs provide opportunities to participate in authentic research, to interact and engage with scientists, to pursue real-world questions for which real findings are identified, reported, and published. As fundamental science practice increasingly leans toward a greater collective intelligence, the need to identify key elements and examples of successful citizen science programs will intensify.