Citizen Science

Featured

  • A woman participates in a citizen science project to collect data about horseshoe crab populations in Cedar Key, Florida, March 31, 2017, photo by Florida Sea Grant

    Essay

    Citizen Science Helps Communities Participate in, Understand, and Trust Science

    Good citizen science brings a community together and helps it prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. A RAND guide takes non-expert investigators from the early stages of defining their questions and setting their goals, through building their teams, to planning for action.

    Jan 4, 2022

  • People working together to implement an idea, illustration by VectorMine/Adobe Stock

    Report

    The Potential of Community Citizen Science

    Community citizen science offers unique opportunities to engage the public in science and to enhance civic life. It is used for activities like monitoring ecosystem health and enhancing disaster preparedness. But there are challenges to translating citizen science research into action.

    Jun 18, 2019

Explore Citizen Science

  • RAND Weekly Recap

    Blog

    U.S.-Russia Diplomacy, Citizen Science, America's Blood Supply: RAND Weekly Recap

    This weekly recap focuses on U.S.-Russia diplomacy in the context of the Ukraine crisis, the value of citizen science, strengthening the America's blood supply, and more.

    Jan 21, 2022

  • Periodical

    Periodical

    RAND Review: January-February 2022

    The cover story highlights the risks of geoengineering -- the large-scale manipulation of environmental processes to control climate. The Q&A with Jacqueline Burns sheds light on how her military experience informs her approach to research and analysis.

    Jan 4, 2022

  • Tool

    Tool

    Citizen Science for Disasters: A Guide for Community Groups

    This toolkit provides guidance to community groups on engaging with disaster citizen science to support public health preparedness.

    Sep 29, 2021

  • Tool

    Tool

    Citizen Science for Disasters: A Guide for Local Health Departments

    This toolkit provides guidance to local health departments on engaging with disaster citizen science to support public health preparedness.

    Sep 29, 2021

  • Report

    Report

    Emerging developments in citizen science: Reflecting on areas of innovation

    This report explores innovation in citizen science as it relates to data collection, analysis, recruitment and capacity building. It also considers emerging themes and topical issues including policymaking developments.

    Feb 16, 2020

  • Journal Article

    Enhancing Community Preparedness with Disaster Citizen Science

    The emerging field of disaster citizen science may be a promising way to enhance public health emergency preparedness and build community resilience. This inventory of projects establishes a baseline for future research to capitalize on opportunities, address limitations, and help disaster citizen science achieve its potential.

    Oct 30, 2019

  • A man walks through floodwaters to survey damage from Hurricane Sandy in the New Dorp Beach neighborhood of Staten Island, New York, November 1, 2012, photo by Lucas Jackson/Reuters

    Essay

    How Citizen Scientists Are Protecting Their Communities

    After Superstorm Sandy, residents of Brooklyn's Sunset Park neighborhood cleaned up debris, pumped out basements, and teamed up with researchers to find out what was in the floodwater. They established safety protocols to help local businesses prevent their chemicals from escaping and wrote a guide to help other communities.

    Aug 29, 2019

  • Journal Article

    Journal Article

    Citizen Science: Generating Ideas and Exploring Consensus

    The final report in a three-part series on citizen science looks at the growing number of online tools for gathering and understanding opinions.

    Aug 16, 2018

  • Journal Article

    Journal Article

    Citizen Science: Crowdsourcing for Systematic Reviews

    In the second of a three-part learning report series, RAND Europe lookedinto the use of crowdsourcing for systematic reviews. The report outlines its benefits and provides advice on how to ensure the quality of research ismaintained.

    Jun 21, 2018

  • Journal Article

    Journal Article

    Citizen Science: Crowdsourcing for Research

    This report looks at the practical applications of citizen science in research. It includes advice for designing and implementing citizen science projects and how to evaluate success.

    May 23, 2018

  • Vaccinations at a community clinic

    Commentary

    Open Science and a Culture of Health: You Two Should Talk

    By working together, the Culture of Health and Open Science movements could increase their potential to accelerate the use of scientific evidence to address impediments to population health and collective well-being.

    Mar 7, 2018

  • Report

    Report

    Open science: The citizen's role in and contribution to research

    The report summarises the conclusions of an expert consultation exploring how citizens are increasingly becoming involved in scientific research. It investigates the benefits and challenges that citizen science poses for different stakeholders.

    Oct 11, 2017

  • Women test water samples for a water pollution or conservation project outdoors

    Report

    Community Citizen Science Could Transform Science and Society

    Citizen science, public participation in research and scientific endeavors, isn't new. But community citizen science—where volunteers actively lead and conduct research, taking control and ownership—is on the rise. What promise does this phenomenon hold? And what are the risks?

    Sep 27, 2017

  • Report

    Report

    Open Science: The citizen's role and contribution to research

    Branching from Open Science is 'citizen science,' -- the increased involvement of amateur scientists in the various stages of the scientific research process. This publication explores the definitions, opportunities and challenges for citizen science.

    Jul 17, 2017

  • Tool

    Tool

    Monitoring Open Science Trends in Europe

    The Open Science Monitor tracks trends in areas that have consistent and reliable data, specifically: open access, open research data, open scholarly communication and citizen science.

    Apr 3, 2017

  • People

    People

    Emily Hutton

  • People

    People

    Katie O'Brien

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