Richard Edwards and Ian Simpson at the University of Stirling have recently gained funding from the British Academy in the UK to explore the educational backgrounds of people contributing to citizen science projects and to examine what volunteers learn informally from participating in citizen science projects.

There is considerable concern about the levels of participation in science education and calls within the EU for innovative approaches to the informal teaching and learning of science. One potential example of innovation and informal learning is in the burgeoning participation by young people and adults in citizen science projects in many parts of the globe. However, while research into these projects and their models of operation is growing, to date, there has been very limited exploration of who is participating. In particular, there is little knowledge of the demographic and educational backgrounds of participants, the sources of expertise upon which they draw in making their contributions to citizen science and the informal learning they gain from participation in projects.

This research aims to conduct a survey of volunteers in citizen science projects in order to address these significant gaps in knowledge, the findings from which will help to inform the further development of citizen science more generally as informal sites of learning.

For more information contact Richard Edwards at [email protected]