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(Un)theorizing citizen science: Investigation of theories applied to citizen science studies
Author(s) -
Hajibayova Lala
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of the association for information science and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.903
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 2330-1643
pISSN - 2330-1635
DOI - 10.1002/asi.24308
Subject(s) - citizen science , affordance , warrant , pace , discipline , scientific literacy , engineering ethics , sociology , science education , science communication , science, technology, society and environment education , epistemology , public awareness of science , political science , social science , computer science , pedagogy , engineering , philosophy , botany , geodesy , human–computer interaction , financial economics , economics , biology , geography
Abstract This article provides an analysis of theories and methodologies that have been applied in citizen science research. This study suggests a significant contribution of citizen science to various disciplines as well as overall science education, literacy, and development. A solid theoretical grounding of citizen science research, coupled with application of pertinent emergent theories to various processes associated with scientific inquiry and discovery, suggests the disciplinary traits and unique contributions. This study proposes that the current pace of citizen science research, empowered by ordinary citizens as well as technological affordances, provides solid evidence to warrant further development of citizen science as a unique discipline that can strengthen and democratize scientific inquiry.