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Book chapter2024

Citizen science and credit

Sandin, Per; Baard, Patrik

Abstract

Science is supposedly meritocratic, and this means that it is important for scientists to be familiar with the mechanisms of how credit, for instance, in the form of authorship, acknowledgments, or awards, is bestowed. In citizen science – research activities in which volunteers are actively involved and where the research project and its success rely on those volunteer contributions – there are less clear guidelines and practices for awarding and valuing credit. This chapter introduces different forms of citizen science, disentangles concepts of credit, fairness, and incentives and considers their relevance in citizen science. Then some specific forms of expressing credit are discussed: prizes and awards, authorship, acknowledgments, and naming, including eponyms. Finally, some considerations to be taken into account when thinking of how to give credit in citizen science are proposed: To apply a wide conception of credit, to apply a wide conception of contributions and contributors, and to err on the side of generosity.

Published in

Springer International Handbooks of Education
2024, pages: 1367-1381
Title: Second Handbook of Academic Integrity
Publisher: Springer

SLU Authors

UKÄ Subject classification

Information Studies
Social Sciences Interdisciplinary

Publication identifier

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-54144-5_144
  • ISBN: 978-3-031-54143-8
  • eISBN: 978-3-031-54144-5

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/131657