Citizen science is a rapidly growing field which involves non-experts in the active process of scientific research. In just one-decade, citizen science has grown from a small-unknown phenomenon to a distinct field of research, which is attracting the interest of scientists, governments and publics, worldwide. In Australia alone, hundreds of citizen science projects exist with over 100,000 participants contributing to scientific data collection, classification and analysis.

With this rapid increase, a growing need has arisen to better understand the characteristics of citizen science projects in Australia, and determine their diverse goals, practices and stakeholders involved. This was the aim of my research project as a science communication and citizen science researcher at the Center for Public Awareness of Science (CPAS) at ANU. Read more by Dr Yaela Golumbic in Inspiring NSW. 

Initial results from this research highlight the unique characteristics of Australian citizen science and illustrate its wide scope, practices and community orientation. Read the participant report here.