FEATURE Inviting the public to collect or otherwise contribute to research is a method that has grown and developed in recent years. Citizen science, as part of open science, is an exciting research method but one that demands a lot from the researcher and is sometimes met with mistrust.
Judith Sarneel at the Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, is one of the researchers running a citizen science project at Umeå University. Ten years ago, she started the ‘tea bag experiment’, where tea bags are buried in the ground to see how quickly microorganisms break down plant material, and ultimately to help scientists make better models of soil carbon. She enlisted the help of school classes and their teachers, who were tasked with burying tea bags in the ground and then reporting the weight loss to the research project. The project got off to a good start and has since developed into a worldwide standard for plant material decomposition and the term ‘tea bag index’ has become a household word.
Judith Sarneel emphasises the importance of being well prepared before researchers choose to engage the public.
Judith Sarneel
ImageLinus Talltjärn– People are unsure and will ask a lot of questions. So it's good to prepare clear instructions or, if possible, to gather for a workshop where you teach the method. She continues:
– It is also important to think about which parts of the process citizens should be involved in. How much influence should the researcher have?
Regarding the handling of personal data, Judith Sarneel enlisted the help of the University Library and the legal officers at Umeå University. They were able to clarify how personal data should be handled and gave Judith the opportunity to discuss issues such as what personal data is and who owns the data.
– For example, e-mail addresses are good to have for us researchers in this case when we want to check data. But it can be too personalised if the tea bag is buried in your own garden and you can link the address to the person's home address, so that won't work.
An important aspect of citizen science is giving feedback to those who participate and contribute. Judith Sarneel's experience is to think carefully before the project starts about how the results will be communicated to the participants.
– Some people are just happy to see the results and feel they have learnt something. Others want to know whether the results are good or bad, but sometimes the research cannot tell them directly. But above all, citizen science is great fun! It feels good to share your knowledge with those who have questions and meet them there,’ says Judith Sarneel.
Olivia Ekman is a librarian at Umeå University Library and works with research data and the transition to open science. She explains that the library can provide contacts, and she also recommends the association and the portal medborgarforskning.se/eng. where projects are gathered and are available to participate in.
– What do you want to do as a researcher and how? There are many ways, and it is important to prepare well and have a plan for your work. How do you reach out to participants? How can you involve them in the project? Should they be co-authors? Contact the library and we will have a first conversation, says Olivia Ekman.