About Resource
Cornell Lab of Ornithology researchers and colleagues at universities and science museums outline five models for public participation in scientific research, particularly in conservation and natural resource management. The models are based on varying levels of public participation in conducting and shaping the research. From low to high levels, these are:
- Contractual: communities ask professional researchers to conduct a specific scientific study and report back with the results;
- Contributory: scientists design projects communities contribute data to, either through community members collecting the data or providing samples;
- Collaborative: scientists design studies using community-contributed data but also refine the design, analyze the data, and/or communicate findings;
- Co-created: scientists and non-scientists work together, with non-scientist participants actively involved in all aspects of the research process; and
- Collegial contributions: non-professional scientists conduct independent research, which professional scientists and science fields may recognize in their own work to varying degrees.
How to Use
This resource is helpful for thinking through the different components that can make up community science projects and providing ideas for how to design projects. It describes how the degree of participation and the quality of participation matter for assessing types of public participation in science. It also lists many of the common inputs and activities that shape community participation in science and many of the outcomes and broader impacts that could be possible.
The article also includes a helpful table that assesses each of the five models according to which aspects of the scientific research process incorporate public participation (see Table 2). These aspects include: choosing the defining study questions, gathering information and resources, developing hypotheses, designing data collection methods, collecting data, analyzing data, interpreting analyses, and disseminating conclusions or translating results into action.
Although it focuses on public participation in science for conservation and natural resource management purposes, the models and features it describes can apply more broadly to other science and community contexts.
Author(s)/Organization: Jennifer L. Shirk , Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Heidi L. Ballard, University of California Davis; Candie C. Wilderman, Dickinson College; Tina Phillips, Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Andrea Wiggins, University of New Mexico; Rebecca Jordan, Rutgers University; Ellen McCallie, Carnegie Museum of Natural History; Matthew Minarchek, Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Bruce V. Lewenstein, Cornell University; Marianne E. Krasny, Cornell University; and Rick Bonney, Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Publication Year: 2012
Tags
Attributes:Aims for Action, Centers Community Priorities, Shares Leadership
Outcomes:Capacity for Civic Engagement, Impactful Scientific Research, Strong Community Partnerships
Approaches:Participatory Research, Community-driven Citizen Science
Type:Reports & Articles