Sometimes personnel and time to collect relevant data are missing in science. Committed citizens can take on this task in Citizen Science projects and thus help researchers at valuable knowledge that would not be achievable without their participation. These projects cover a wide range of topics, from environmental protection- to biodiversity studies to social issues. Participants not only get to know scientific methods, but also help to raise awareness of important social challenges.
Science and research are often connected to the image of stuffy laboratories. However, many significant findings arise directly in nature. Especially when it comes to examining the environment, scientists have to collect extensive data outdoors. These include videos and pictures for the documentation of certain animal and plant species at various locations or soil samples for analyzing microorganisms. The more data is collected, the more precisely researchers can derive their results.
However, the collection of large amounts of data is time -consuming and often requires more personnel than scientific institutes. Citizens’ science projects, also known as the Citizen Science projects, are a promising solution to this problem. Thanks to smartphones and the relatively simple development of apps, everyone can now help with data collection.
Report garden birds for science
The NABU (Nature Conservation Association Germany) leads some successful examples of this. In one of his projects, NABU wants to find out how the populations of domestic bird species develop: How many birds are there currently? Does your number increase or off? Where do you live? However, it would be extremely long to move throughout Germany with a small group of researchers or even 30 trained volunteers to count birds. In addition, they could only examine limited places over a short period of time.
Interested citizens come into play here: since 2005 the NABU has been organizing the “Hour of the Garden Birds”. On three days in May – this year from May 8th to 10th – nature lovers are called to observe birds in their gardens or parks for an hour and to report their observations. In the past, this happened using filler forms; Today everything is handled by the simple “bird world” app. It offers information about more than 300 bird species, including pictures and sound recordings of bird calls. Due to various filter functions, users can compare bird species together and correctly identify viewed animals. Participants can easily define the birds they saw and report them for the campaign.
In the meantime, the “hour of garden birds” has developed into the largest bird observation campaign in Germany. In May 2024, over 58,000 people reported more than 1.2 million birds – an impressive number that would not have been possible without the commitment of citizens. In addition, the similar “hour of winter birds” is carried out annually in January. The two actions provide valuable data for research on the size and changes of different bird populations. The volunteers thus contribute to the recording of biodiversity data and help to pursue trends in bird population for years.
From game fun to research insights
But not only in nature, but also in other research areas, citizen scientists can actively participate. In the “Brain Explorer” app, children and young people can play small games on their cell phones, for example, to test various cognitive brain functions. Occasionally they are also asked for their condition. The researchers of the Max Planck Ucl Center for Computational Psychiatry and Aging Research would like to find out why mental illnesses often occur during puberty and how they are related to brain development. In the “Microbelix” project from the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research in Saarland, citizens can send soil samples from their own garden so that researchers can examine the bacteria it contains.
Whether citizen scientists send in rehearsals, provide data in a playful way or report their own observations – Citizen Science projects Always bring together scientific experts and interested lay people. This cooperation offers advantages for both sides: citizens are more involved in scientific processes and have the opportunity to gain exciting insights into different research areas. At the same time, the researchers benefit from a broad database and the diverse perspectives of the participants, which enriches their studies and improves the quality of their results.