Section outline

  • Course description

    Collapse all Expand all

    This is a free course of approximately 1 hour 45 minutes. It is aimed at anyone who will spend time interacting with citizen scientists - for example, recruiting people to participate in your project, blogging, or acting as a group leader or discussion forum moderator. You will need to have an overview of citizen science, but no in-depth knowledge is required.

    Millions of people choose to contribute to science as citizen scientists, and have a variety of motivations to do so. Once in the project, they require feedback and communication, and, often, a space in which to discuss the project and the wider issues with their peers - and with you. Depending on the project, they may also need specific tools or learning opportunities. This course will introduce you to a variety of means to promote effective communication between everyone involved in the project, to community building, and to a deeper understanding of the citizen scientist's perspective and their needs.

    By the end of this course, you will be able to:

    • understand some concerns and barriers citizen scientists may face when they sign up to a project, and ways you may be able to overcome them;
    • plan how to enable communications and discussions to take place in citizen science;
    • analyse your own citizen science project to choose the best platform for learning, feedback and community building.

    Click here to enrol in this course and use enrolment key Volunteers to do so. Once you enrol you will be able to take quizzes and receive a badge upon successful course completion.

  • Welcome and Introduction (5 minutes)

    • Welcome to the course! (2 minutes) Page
      Students must
      Mark as done

      A video introduction to the course and a welcome from the course leader.

    • Course overview (3 minutes) Page
      Students must
      Mark as done

      A short description of what the learner can expect to find in this course.

  • Why do people do citizen science? (12 minutes)

    • Motivations: A short introduction (2 minutes) Page
      Students must
      Mark as done

      A very short introduction to our first section.

    • Motivations of Astronomy Citizen Scientists (5 minutes) Interactive Content
      Students must
      Mark as done

      We'll start with an introduction to a well-known study of volunteer motivations. This part of the course is based on a paper by Jordan Raddick et al, called "Galaxy Zoo: Exploring the Motivations of Citizen Science Volunteers". You can read the whole paper here. 

      You don't need to know any astronomy or learn any of the examples shown here - they are merely here as "this is something people found interesting"!

    • Some different reasons to do citizen science (4 minutes) Page
      Students must
      Mark as done

      In this section, we'll watch a short video by a woman who participated in a different citizen science project, Stall Catchers, and consider different types of motivation.

    • Motivations wrap-up (1 minute) Page
      Students must
      Mark as done

      Alice Sheppard shares her thoughts on citizen science motivations, and what it means for us to understand them.

  • Engagement and Communication (12 minutes)

  • Community Building (32 minutes)

    • Introduction to Community Building (1 minute) Page
      Students must
      Mark as done

      A short video from the course leader about the importance of citizen scientists forming a community.

    • Face-to-face communities (3 minutes) Page
      Students must
      Mark as done

      In this section we'll read some tips for working face-to-face with groups of people.

    • What type of online discussion tools should I use? (3 minutes) Interactive Content
      Students must
      Mark as done

      What if you go online instead of face-to-face? To build an online community, you might choose to use social media, blogs or newsletters, a discussion forum, or build discussion tools such as chat boxes directly into your project interface. The best option will vary from project to project, and several projects use more than one type. We'll look at some advantages and disadvantages of each.

    • Should my project have a discussion forum? (10 minutes) Interactive Content
      Students must
      Mark as done

      A discussion forum can be a wonderful place which the citizen scientist will want to visit and contribute to regularly. However, it's a lot of work to maintain, and depending on the nature of your project people might not want to use it. We'll look at some specific aspects of discussion forums to help you decide whether it's suitable to build one.

    • What will you build into your discussion forum? (Optional - 5 minutes) Interactive Content
      Students must
      Mark as done
      If you build a discussion forum, what should you put in it? Here is a selection of ideas - not all will necessarily be suitable for your project; you will have to choose.

      If you are not planning to include extensive online discussion in your project, you can skip this section and read the 3-minute "Discussion Forums: Short Summary" instead. Some tips in it may still be relevant to you.
    • Maintaining a positive online atmosphere (Optional - 10 minutes) Interactive Content
      Students must
      Mark as done
      Online discussion can be wonderful - or full of unpleasantness. Here are some tips to create a pleasant atmosphere in your online community so that all volunteers feel valued and confident.

      If you are not planning to include extensive online discussion in your project, you can skip this section and read the 3-minute "Discussion Forums: Short Summary" instead (this is the same document as the previous section). However, some tips here may still be relevant to you.

  • The Potential of the Citizen Scientist (22 minutes)

    • The impact of citizen science upon the participant (5 minutes) Interactive Content
      Students must
      Mark as done
      We know that citizen science has had an impact on science. What seems less studied is the impact of citizen science upon the citizen scientist. We'll look at some examples. 
    • Concerns you or volunteers might have and how to address them (10 minutes) Interactive Content
      Students must
      Mark as done
      What might you, or your volunteers, find worrying? Here are some scenarios and concerns, and some suggestions on what to do should they arise. Every community and situation is different, however, so it will be up to you to use your own judgement or make a decision with your team.
    • A Community's Creations (7 minutes) Page
      Students must
      Mark as done
      People enjoy learning and contributing, and also creating something of their own. We'll finish this course by taking a tour of a few creations by citizen scientists and what can be done with them.

  • Summary and Self-Assessment (10 minutes)

    • Congratulations! (2 minutes) Page
      Students must
      Mark as done

      You've completed this course. A very short, final word before you attempt the test ...

    • Final Quiz (8 minutes)
      Students must
      Receive a grade
      Receive a passing grade

      This quiz will test your understanding of Volunteer Engagement, Management and Care. You will need a mark of 50% to pass the course. 

  • Further Reading

    • Further Reading Page
      Students must
      Mark as done
      Here's a list of the links used in the course, plus some other suggestions for further reading for topics you may have found interesting or sites you may find useful.

  • Sources and Acknowledgements