Exploring the invisible college of citizen science: questions, methods and contributions

This study contributes to an understanding of citizen science using the lens of collaborative scientific communication and methods as a key part of theoretically driven citizen science projects. Findings of this study demonstrate application of diverse research methodologies to understand various aspects of individuals’ participation in science projects, including incentives for engagement and motivation. Research questions addressed by citizen science studies revealed seven broad areas of scholarly interest: natural science, behavior, social justice, technology, education, research design, and health. Citizen science research was predominantly led by questions associated with natural and behavioral sciences, including environmentalism and conservation, climate and climate change, environmental monitoring, and the motivations of individuals to become citizen scientists. Applied citizen science research demonstrated a relatively higher preference for survey and mixed method approaches.