Analysis of the current state of citizen science in Germany, based on 96 projects registered on the official website of the Federal Ministry for Education and Research
2019
Miyashita-Ostermann, Emu F. | Bellingrath-Kimura, Sonoko D. | Pernat, Nadja | Watanabe, Izumi | Ozaki, Hirokazu | Kampen, Helge | Werner, Doreen
Citizen Science (CS), a term for citizen engagement in scientific research, enables large₋scale and low-cost data collection. It allows the active participation of citizens in scientific research including topics such as environmental issues, social problems and regional history, and provides room for interaction between citizens and scientists. Resulting changes in the consciousness of citizens may thus influence a variety of social and political fields. In Germany, a country with a long history of citizens participating in scientific research, the remarkable growth of CS in recent years has attracted attention from scientists and qualified as a research approach from research institutes in various scientific fields. This paper focuses on the 96 CS projects registered on the official website of the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF). Upon analyzing and categorizing these projects according to starting year, target age group, activities, research field, project goal and organization, the following conclusions were drawn. 1) Digitalization of projects and internet use have led to the rapid growth of CS in recent years; 2) participation is easy; 3) a wide range of research fields and activities make it possible for citizens to contribute to projects according to their skills and interests; 4) project goals range from nature conservation to policy enactment; 5) CS is considered important and worth supporting by the German government. Furthermore, the website of the BMBF was found to be an easy and effective medium for citizens to gather information on projects matching their interests.
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