The active involvement of citizens in research offers a number of benefits. For citizen scientists:
- Play an active role in research: Taking part in a citizen science project gives you the chance to play an active role in shaping research. In most cases, no special training is required, and you will be contributing to current research findings. Depending on the project, you may even be able to help shape the research question or the methods used. This enables you to contribute your own perspectives, experiences, and life circumstances to research projects, ensuring they are considered.
- Gain insight into the research process: Taking part in a citizen science project can give you an insight into how research works, the processes involved, and how research findings are produced.
- Connecting with researchers: Many citizen science projects rely on interaction between citizen scientists and the researchers involved. This gives you the opportunity to meet researchers you might not otherwise have encountered.
- Meeting people with similar interests: In some projects, you work in groups on specific topics. For instance, you could collect data on bird or butterfly distribution, or transcribe historical documents. This allows you to meet others who share your interests and make new friends.
- Learning: You can also learn a great deal by engaging intensively or over the long term with a topic in a citizen science project. You can acquire new skills, such as identifying bird species or reading cursive script. Depending on the project, these learning experiences can vary greatly.
- Enjoying research: One of the most important factors in participating in research is the enjoyment that can be gained from collaborative work. You can satisfy your own curiosity and exchange ideas with others.
For researchers, citizen science offers the following benefits, amongst others:
- New perspectives: Involving members of the public can bring fresh insights to your own research. This can give rise to new research ideas and questions that would not have been incorporated into scientific discourse without public participation.
- Learning from citizen scientists: Citizen scientists often contribute a wealth of knowledge and experience. This is particularly true when collaborating with specialised groups of citizens from the outset. For example, patients and their relatives are often experts on their own conditions, anglers know their fishing waters inside out, and people with a migrant background can offer valuable insights into migration history.
- New research projects become possible: Citizen science opens up new opportunities for research. For instance, many ecological projects currently rely on the involvement of large numbers of people spread across vast geographical areas in order to study the distribution of organisms at a national level. Citizen science also provides access to areas that were previously inaccessible to researchers, such as private land, and to groups of people who would otherwise be impossible or very difficult to reach.
- Making one’s own research more relevant: By involving members of the public, researchers must view their work from the public’s perspective and establish a concrete link to the everyday lives of those involved. This makes science more tangible and relevant to the public, which can enhance the practical relevance of the research.