Citizen Science: Introduction

Citizen Science encompasses a wide variety of activities and practices that recognises non-professionals as valued and empowered actors in advancing knowledge, research and innovation. (UCD’s publication Engage your Research : An Introductory Guide to Engaging & Involving the Public in Research)

Citizen science broadly refers to the active engagement of the general public in scientific research tasks. Citizen science is a growing practice in which scientists and citizens collaborate to produce new knowledge for science and society. (The Science of Citizen Science)

Citizen science can be described as the voluntary participation of non-professional scientists in research and innovation at different stages of the process and at different levels of engagement, from shaping research agendas and policies, to gathering, processing and analysing data, and assessing the outcomes of research. (European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, 2020)

Citizen science projects actively involve citizens in scientific endeavour that generates new knowledge or understanding. Citizens may act as contributors, collaborators, or as project leader and have a meaningful role in the project. ECSA (European Citizen Science Association). 2015. Ten Principles of Citizen Science. Berlin.

Citizen science is a global movement where individuals, family members, friends, community groups, or anyone does science to address real-world questions. (SciStarter)

Network for Insect Vectors in Ireland : How Citizen Scientists can Contribute 

Wednesday 8th May 2024 at 3:00 - 4:00pm
Earth Institute kitchen, 4th floor, O’Brien Science Centre (Tea, coffee and biscuits will be provided) and online via Zoom

Please Register Here

In this talk, members of the Network for insect vectors in Ireland (NetVec Ireland) research project will explain how to identify adult mosquitoes and invasive species and how to collect and identify mosquito larvae. Live specimens and microscopes will be made available on the day to illustrate specific characteristics.

You will have the opportunity to get involved as the team will be seeking volunteers to take part in their midge and mosquito surveillance project over the summer.

Speakers:
 

• Angela Valcarcel Olmeda from the University Complutense of Madrid, Faculty of Pharmacy, who is in the third year of her PhD project entitled ‘Irish survey of biting midges and mosquitoes and vector-borne pathogens’
• Thomas Curran, who just completed his PhD on the development of DNA-based methods for the identification of mosquitoes and is employed as a postdoc under the current project 
• Principal Investigator, Annetta Zintl, Associate Professor at the School of Veterinary Medicine

• NetVec Ireland is a project funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and aims to establish a national network of expertise in arthropod vectors and vector-borne pathogens. NetVec Ireland aims to investigate the current distribution of biting midges and mosquitoes and vector-borne pathogens. Citizen scientists can make an important contribution by providing local knowledge and expertise and enhancing sampling capacity. A widespread understanding on how to recognise exotic species will help to improve Ireland’s preparedness and reduce the threat of vector-borne disease. 

UCD’s publication Engage your Research : An Introductory Guide to Engaging & Involving the Public in Research states:

“Citizen Science encompasses a wide variety of activities and practices that recognises non-professionals as valued and empowered actors in advancing knowledge, research and innovation.”

Citizen Science, or the participation of the general public in the scientific research process, is an important element in establishing new links between science and society. It is thus essential to implementing Open Science, can contribute to innovation tailored to the needs of society, lead to reciprocal learning and foster a scientific culture across society as a whole.

From: The LIBER Roadmap to Open Science (LIBER is the Association of European Research Libraries)