From curiosity to research: enhancing citizen science in museums through virtual assistance

Abstract

The public's participation in scientific research is increasing (Shirk et al., 2012), and citizen science is being used more in the context of museums. These museums want a deeper engagement with their volunteers, and a way to do so is to involve them in citizen science projects. This project aims to support the co-creation and execution of a citizen science project with volunteers and museum researchers by lowering the barriers for volunteers to join and by helping them formulate a research question that is suitable for a museum's citizen science project.
The project began with a background study, exploring the theory of citizen science and volunteering. More extensive research is done to discover how this theory translates into practice. This research was focused on finding answers to the following questions: Who are the volunteers that are involved in citizen science projects, what motivates them, what does a citizen science project look like in a museum, and who are involved and what are their roles? Finding these answers is done by conducting interviews with experts and volunteers and sharing a questionnaire that is focussed on the motivation of volunteers.
Insights from this research highlighted several topics that influence these citizen science projects. Project leaders of citizen science projects expressed that they see the goal of a project to allow the volunteers to become their own researchers, to ask their own questions, and to drive their own way forward. And focus on involving the volunteers earlier in the process so you can create a citizen science project together. A data scientist in a citizen science project said that she recommends a closer collaboration between the volunteer and the scientist.
Based on these findings, the final design solution was developed: An online research assistant that supports the volunteers that want to start a citizen science project with the museum. The tool guides the volunteers in identifying a topic they are are enthusiastic about and helps them formulate a research question that aligns with this topic and that fits within the museum goals. This results in a good starting point for them to pitch their ideas to the museum researcher. It helps them feel more in control of a project by making them an active part of its creation. For the museum, this results in a new citizen science project that fits within the volunteer project. This is how they get the most out of the skills and interests of the volunteers that are involved.
This project shows a tool that can ultimately help volunteers and museum researchers create a citizen science project together, creating citizen science projects where the citizens are fully participating. Further research can focus on how this tool can be applied in other research areas as well, which can provide valuable insights into the applicability and impact of volunteers in scientific research.