Guide to Citizen Science

Citizen science – the involvement
of volunteers in science – isn’t
new. Within the UK we have a
long and rich tradition of scientific
discovery by unpaid individuals and
interest groups. Indeed our current
understanding of UK wildlife and the
wider environment is due in large
part to the dedication and expertise
of the naturalist community.
Over the past decade, there has been a rapid
increase in the diversity and scale of citizen
science. Initiatives range from crowd sourcing
activities, in which the time and effort of large
numbers of people are used to solve a problem
or analyse a large dataset, to small groups of
volunteers, who are experts in their own right,
collecting and analysing environmental data and
sharing their findings.
The range of possible approaches can be
bewildering, but when it is planned and
executed well, citizen science can increase
scientific knowledge, raise people’s awareness
of their environment and allow like-minded
people to share enthusiasm and knowledge.
This guide aims to support people already
involved in citizen science, and those new
to it, within the UK. It is based on detailed
information gathered and analysed as part of
the UK-EOF funded project “Understanding
Citizen Science & Environmental Monitoring”,
which semi-systematically reviewed 234
projects and included 30 case studies (Roy
et al., 2012). It will help you to design and
implement a citizen science project relating to
biodiversity or the environment.
Please see this guide as a starting point that
you can add to and adapt to meet your
needs and above all, remember to have fun...
enthusiasm is infectious!

Author
UK Environmental Observation Framework
Publisher
UK Environmental Observation Framework
ISBN number
978-1-906698-37-9
Publication date
Practical Solutions Categories