18. Evaluation in citizen science

Workshop session | Chairperson: Ayelet Baram-Tsabari | Wednesday, 09 September 2020 | 10:00-11:30


10:00-10:25  |  18.1 Co-evaluation in citizen (social) science

Author/s: Barbara Kieslinger, Teresa Schäfer and Katja Mayer

Presenter: Katja Mayer
Summary:

Co-evaluation in Citizen Science needs to be carefully designed and implemented. Documented experiences and good practices are scarce. By co-designing the evaluation strategy with the participation of all relevant actors there is a risk to ‘over-involve’ participants into the processes, reducing motivation or creating confusion. Expectation and impact considerations need to be managed from the beginning not to create disappointment. In Citizen Social Science projects we encounter limits of openness and limits of transferability of data since local contexts play a crucial role. Therefore, careful anticipation of potential challenges, risks and limits is vital for a successful implementation of co-evaluation.

PRESENTATION LINK: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4020367


10:25-10:50  |  18.2 Developing metrics and instruments to evaluate the impacts of citizen science on society, governance, the economy, the environment and science

Author/s: Luigi Ceccaroni, Uta Wehn, Steven Loiselle, Stephen Parkinson, Hannah Joyce, Mark Naura, Martin Janes, Mohammad Gharesifard, Sasha Woods and James Sprinks

Presenter: Luigi Ceccaroni
Summary:

The MICS project evaluates the impact of citizen science activities. The main MICS specific objectives are:  (1) to provide comprehensive, participatory and inclusive metrics and instruments to evaluate citizen-science impacts; (2) to implement an impact-assessment knowledge-base through toolboxes for methods application, information visualisation, and delivery to decision makers, citizens and researchers; (3) to empower ordinary people, adopting and adapting the best practice generated by the Ground Truth 2.0 project in the co-creation of hands-on citizen science validated in four case-study sites across Europe, resulting in a comprehensive conceptual framework and clear recommendations for those involved in citizen-science projects. [https://www.slideshare.net/technopapa/metrics-and-instruments-to-evaluate-the-impacts-of-citizen-science]




10:50-11:10  |  18.3 Exploring synergies between citizen science and social sciences and humanities

Author/s: Loreta Tauginienė, Eglė Butkevičienė, Katrin Vohland, Barbara Heinisch, Maria Daskolia, Monika Suškevičs, Manuel Portela, Bálint Balázs and Baiba Prūse

Presenters: Loreta Tauginienė, Eglė Butkevičienė, Barbara Heinisch, Baiba Prūse
Summary:

Citizen science (CS) evolved through multiple disciplinary manifestations into a new field of study and a participatory method of inquiry. While most CS projects take place within problem-focused natural sciences, social sciences and humanities help understanding the human dimension and open a broad methodological spectrum for enriching scientific research with new approaches and for boosting public participation. In this presentation, using a meta-synthesis approach, we found out that social sciences are gaining more acknowledgment within interdisciplinary CS projects by addressing ‘wicked’ problems of human behaviour and agency, while humanities are in quest of a better-defined locus in CS.




11:10-11:30  |  18.4 Measuring impact in participatory research: an open, multidimensional and multi-actors online evaluation platform

Author/s: Anna Cigarini, Josep Perelló, Anne-Sophie Gresle, Leonardo de la Torre Avila, María-Jesús Pinazo, Mireia Ribera, Herman Dempere and Eloi Puertas

Presenter: Anna Cigarini
Summary:

The evaluation and impact assessment of citizen science is crucial to assess its utility, relevance and transformative change capacities. We will discuss the InSPIRES Open Platform, an evaluation tool which is both an online questionnaire and a platform for automatic data analysis visualization (with open, shareable and comparable data). The platform understands evaluation as a co-learning process within and between projects as well as a self-reflection around the research process and results obtained. Platform development, preliminary results, limitations and challenges will be discussed.