About the Conference
The term “citizen science” has a variety of meanings, from versions of public understanding of science, grassroot science done outside of research institutions, to crowdsourced science, scientists-led projects with voluntary participation in monitoring, data collection and analysis. In recent years, citizen science has become more strongly associated with crowdsourced science and attracted much attention, partly due to the success of prominent projects like Galaxy Zoo, Foldit, etc, partly due to its family resemblance with online collaborative projects and its affinity with the call for open data and open access in academic research.
This conference is collaboration between legal scholars and historians of science. Recognizing that scientists in many disciplines have long relied on amateur collaborators, we ask what the continuations and ruptures in this long history of citizen participation in scientific endeavors are and what normative challenges we face in this newest wave. The conference will open with a keynote speech delivered by Professor Mario Biagioli of UC Davis, followed by panels around four themes:
1. Problematizing the boundary between "professionals" and "amateurs."
How was this line drawn since the mid/late 19th century? How have institutions helped to amplify the contribution of certain actors while silencing others?
3. Citizen science, biomedical research and informed consent
Does the application of citizen science to medical research pose new ethical problems?
Can citizen science empower patients/research subjects and their respective communities in medical research? Are the distinction between experts and non-experts and the distinction between researchers and research subjects in the biomedical research field particularly difficult to break?
2. Authorship, ownership and credibility in citizen science.
The dialectic relationship between symbolic resources and material interests. How should one evaluate the credibility of citizen science projects? How does one properly attribute contributions? Who makes these decisions?
4. Citizen Science and
Policy Making
What are the factors that shape the ability of citizen science to actually influence scientists and decision makers? To accept citizen’s
involvement as a legitimate part of both knowledge production and
technical decision making, what are the necessary institutional and
procedural conditions?