Citizen science - projects where the general public can get involved in "real" science - has gained enormous popularity in recent years. Scientists are excited to be able to benefit from the help of tens, hundreds, or even thousands of people. And citizen scientists love to be involved and to contribute to real science. At the same time, citizen science can be a way to learn about science or to get interested in science.
In order to develop a successful citizen science project with happy and loyal participants resulting in valid and reliable scientific outcomes, it is important to know a thing or two about citizen scientists.
In this seminar, Dr. Anne Land-Zandstra will discuss some of her research on motivations of citizen scientists, their expectations, their need for feedback and the learning impact. Of course "the citizen scientist" does not exist, but knowing more about participants may help to organize successful citizen science projects.
CERN Physics Education Research Team