LERU analyzes and gives suggestions on citizen science to universities
The League of European Research Universities (LERU) has published a document with which it aims to support recent trends in citizen science that can help science to progress and benefit both researchers and society in general. This work counts with the participation of Professor Josep Perelló, from the Department of Condensed Matter Physics and director of the research group on citizen science Open Systems.
The League of European Research Universities (LERU) has published a document with which it aims to support recent trends in citizen science that can help science to progress and benefit both researchers and society in general. This work counts with the participation of Professor Josep Perelló, from the Department of Condensed Matter Physics and director of the research group on citizen science Open Systems.
The paper, entitled Citizen science at universities: trends, guidelines and recommendations, will be presented in an event in Brussels on November 7. In this document, LERU analyses trends in citizen science, creates guidelines for scientists and gives recommendations to universities, the ones in charge of developing scientific policies. LERU aligns with the European Union efforts to promote citizen science within the political agenda related to open science and responsible research and innovation.
In particular, the paper sets seven guidelines aimed at the researchers. On the one hand it proposes that citizen science projects include a specific line for dissemination and management of relations with the community; and asks for participation to be acknowledged in the published results and the projects to encourage participation. It also asks for commitment so that results are public and transparent, and the projects have organization structures and appropriate codes of conduct, plus conditions of use and control of personal data established.
The paper gives thirteen recommendations to universities, organizations that fund research and policy agents. According to Josep Perelló, “the paper wants to encourage the university to consider the citizen science projects in their structures and respond to questions such as how they can be included, with what standards, what infrastructures or with what impact”. LERU recommends the establishment of quality criteria for citizen science projects including aspects of transparency, ethics, privacy and social values to guarantee the quality of the ongoing projects.
The paper mentions citizen science projects developed by different LERU members, such as the research project “Open Bee Research”,an initiative driven by the research group OpenSystems UB with the collaboration of the Natural History Museum of Barcelona, in which they used urban bees as an indicator of the environment quality, which includes participation from scientific citizens, technicians and artists. Another of the UB projects is Riu.net, led by ecology professor Narcís Prat.
Link to paper:
http://www.leru.org/files/publications/LERU_AP20_citizen_science.pdf
Link to the public presentation of the paper:
http://www.leru.org/index.php/public/calendar/citizen-science-at-leru-universities-trends-guidelines-and-recommendations/