Citizen Science: Evaluating for Civic Engagement
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The Science Communication Project @ISU was founded in 2010 with the goal of enhancing collaborative research on, education for, and the practice of public science communication, broadly conceived. Our biennial symposia- which include public presentations of multidisciplinary research and interactive workshops- bring together a network of scholars who share interests in public engagement of science, environmental communication, natural resource management, and agriscience. Conference proceedings showcase research, evaluations, and critiques of science communication-related practices and phenomena.
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Abstract
Citizen science programs directly engage the public in collecting data for science-related projects. This paper will investigate the claim that citizen science programs deliver opportunities and outcomes for a specific kind of benefit, “civic engagement.” The paper will identify specific behaviors and conditions that have been used as indicators of citizen engagement in citizen science and discuss probable theoretical bases. Second, the paper will report on progress of an empirical study (a program evaluation) conducted in spring of 2016 of the Iowater Program, a citizen science program managed by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, which has trained over 5,000 citizens in water monitoring and reporting. The Iowater evaluation will ground the discussion of citizen science in contemporary experiences of the public.