CS Track was funded in the SwafS segment of Horizon 2020. It was launched in December 2019 with the purpose of broadening the knowledge on Citizen Science (CS) and its activities and projects – joint endeavors of scientists and non-scientists in pursuit of a scientific advance. CS Track sought to increase that knowledge using web-based analytics (computational analyses based on projects’ manifestations on the web and social media), questionnaires and interviews, combined in a multi-perspective analysis. Our data analytics and analysis targeted both individual and social aspects of CS, with the aim to understand complex processes and formulate policy recommendations intended to optimize CS for the society and the economy. After a 2-month extension of its original 3-year duration, on 31.1.23 CS Track reached its end as a research and innovation project.
The importance of the project for society lies on the value of the information produced for different stakeholders and policymakers. The unique mix of methods and sources used in the project has brought innovation in the content of that information, resulting in an increased added value for its users and an enhanced quality of the ensuing policy recommendations.
The project’s objectives were the following (abridged):
1. Further our understanding of the ways CS activities can have an impact on society, locally and globally.
2. Explore and characterize the interplay of CS with official science.
3. Gain understanding through the effective utilization of analytics in combination with social research methods.
4. Identify factors to characterize the specific types of discourse and approaches found in CS projects (knowledge building strategies, targets of action, etc.).
5. Translate the knowledge and findings above into recommendations for actors at all levels – policy makers, companies, NGOs, educational institutions – to raise the value of CS for science awareness and literacy and for society in general.
Already at the proposal stage, some guiding questions were set to help the project realize these objectives: Where are the relevant, interesting topics of CS activities?, What are the characteristics of participation in CS activities?, How can successful examples of CS activities be characterized?, How can CS activities be enhanced using analytics results? During the project, additional questions and emphases were adopted, focusing on subjects such as the development of a database of CS platforms and projects; devising a large survey of CS participants and interviewing experts; deciding on the ways our results should be presented to best suit the needs of our stakeholder community; how to approach CS policy; broadening the scope of our inquiry to include, e.g. CS in times of crisis and pandemic; CS and education; etc.
The project achieved its objectives, bringing important contributions: a conceptualization and categorization of CS activities; a large database (more than 50 CS platforms, almost 5,000 CS projects), used for research; several analytics tools supporting network and content analysis, developed or adapted for their novel utilization in CS research; a large survey (over 1,000 respondents); several analysis undertakings, addressing many facets of CS; the steadily improved project's website, including the eMagazine; the engagement with the target community via social media and campaigns promoting our deliverables and results, along with webinars and other dissemination events, notably the CS Track symposium organized as part of the ECSA conference in October 2022. The last portion of the project concentrated mainly on our analysis and publication of research findings and on the formulation of policy recommendations for CS practitioners and stakeholders.
