Citizen science, according to the European Citizen Science Association (ESCA), is "an ‘umbrella’ term that describes a variety of ways in which the public participates in science. The main characteristics are that: (1) citizens are actively involved in research, in partnership or collaboration with scientists or professionals; and (2) there is a genuine outcome, such as new scientific knowledge, conservation action or policy change."

Why is this important?

Currently, citizen science is becoming more and more important in different fields of science. For example, in natural sciences, it enables large-scale data collection by involving a vast number of individuals which would be challenging to achieve for traditional research methods within the same timeframe and resources. This training will guide you through the crucial elements of responsible citizen science, including protection of human research participants, plants, animals and ecosystems; rights of citizen scientists; conflicts of interest; quality of research outputs etc. By the end of this training, you will gain a deeper understanding of responsible open science and acquire the following skills and attitudes necessary for responsible practising of citizen science:

Practical Tips

This module is part of the ROSiE training on Responsible Open Science for Citizen Scientists. To complete the trainig please complete the other modules in the citizen science guide.

By the end of this training, you will gain a deeper understanding of responsible open science and acquire the following skills and attitudes necessary for responsible practising of citizen science:

Local and Global Citizenship:

Awareness of the importance and social benefits of Open Science in local and global contexts.
Participation in ethics and integrity self-regulation of Open Science and citizen science community.

Personal and Social Responsibility:

Personal and professional responsibility for implementation of Open Science and production of results.
Openness to share own research data, results, tools and publications and appreciation of efforts of others.

Epistemic Skills

Ability to organize, present and use open data and knowledge with integrity.
Ability to critically assess data, knowledge and scientific results produced by others.
Ability to identify ethical and integrity issues in Open Science.

Collaborative Problem-Solving

Ability to apply critical thinking skills in collaborative analysis of ethical and integrity problems in Open Science.
Discussing, finding solutions and making decisions to handle ethics and integrity issues within the Open Science community.

1

Introduction

The UNESCO Recommendation on open science defines open science as: “[..] an inclusive construct that combines various movements and practices aiming to make multilingual scientific knowledge openly available, accessible, and reusable for everyone, to increase scientific collaborations and sharing of information for the benefits of science and society, and to open the processes of scientific knowledge creation, evaluation and communication to societal actors beyond the traditional scientific community. It comprises all scientific disciplines and aspects of scholarly practices, including basic and applied sciences, natural and social sciences and the humanities, and it builds on the following key pillars: open scientific knowledge, open science infrastructures, science communication, open engagement of societal actors, and open dialogue with other knowledge systems.” (UNESCO, 2021) Science as an activity and social practice is aimed at generating new knowledge. The most basic justification of open science as an overarching goal is that through the implementation of open science practices we will, as a global society, produce more and more reliable knowledge “for the benefit of science and society” (UNESCO, 2021).

References

UNESCO (2021). Recommendation on Open Science. https://doi.org/10.54677/MNMH8546

2

Learning about Key Issues

Open science and research ethics have in common their foundation on the universality of human rights. In full alignment with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, open science assumes and serves the principle that “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” Additionally, article 27 of the Universal Declaration states that “Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits”, as well as “Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author”.

The UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science identifies the core values of open science. These values, applicable to the entire scientific research process, include (1) quality and integrity, (2) collective benefit, (3) equity and fairness, and (4) diversity and inclusiveness (UNESCO, 2021). The UNESCO Recommendation also introduces guiding principles of open science, such as transparency, scrutiny, critique, reproducibility, equality of opportunities, responsibility, respect, accountability, collaboration, participation, inclusion, flexibility, and sustainability (UNESCO, 2021).

Open science practices are in principle reciprocal and symmetrical. Everyone contributes knowledge and data by making them openly accessible, and everyone can then use the knowledge and data for further research. Citizen and participatory science is part of open science as one of the types of engagement of social actors and is defined as "models of scientific research conducted by non-professional scientists, following scientifically valid methodologies and frequently carried out in association with formal, scientific programmes or with professional scientists with web-based platforms and social media, as well as open source hardware and software (especially low-cost sensors and mobile apps) as important agents of interaction." (UNESCO, 2021, p. 18-19)

References

UNESCO (2021). Recommendation on Open Science. https://doi.org/10.54677/MNMH8546

3

Test your knowledge

After having engaged with the material in sept 1 and 2, use the flashcards below to test your knowledge!

ROSiE Test Ethical and societal foundations of open science

4

Case Study

Watch the interactive video below and complete the exercises!

Ethical and societal foundations of open science - Case Study

Remarks

Additional Resources:

McAllister, J. W. (2012). Climate science controversies and the demand for access to empirical data. Philosophy of Science, 79(5), 871-880. https://doi.org/10.1086/667871
UNESCO (2023). Open science outlook 1: status and trends around the world. https://doi.org/10.54677/GIIC6829

Steps

Other information

Good Practices & Misconduct

Open science