4.1. Definition and scope of Citizen Science

The term Citizen Science has been used to define a series of activities that link the general public with scientific research. Volunteers and non-professionals contribute collectively in a diverse rangeof scientific projects to answer real-world questions. Both citizens’ contributions and researchers’ attitudes encompass a wide set of activities at multiple scales. We find massive occasional interactions at global scale virtually but also regular proactive involvement in local environments identifying new research questions.

Different definitions can be found for Citizen Science, where some take up more traditional aspects, understanding Citizen Science as an approach, which involves volunteers from the general public in scientific investigations during data collection and analysis. Others define it more broadly, as the public participating in scientific research, which includes also scientific activities like the asking of questions, formulation of hypotheses, interpretation of results. Current discussions around the definition of citizen science not only focus on the scope of activities but also what to understand under “volunteers” and how to composite citizen science teams. What we cannot find is one generally accepted definition of citizen science yet.