Citizen Science in the Social Sciences: A Call for More Evidence

Abstract

While citizen science research is already established in the natural sciences, it remains difficult to find in mainstream social sciences. Yet, social science research stands to benefit greatly from civic engagement. In this age of new technologies, citizen contributions have become more feasible. In Austria, for example, students are engaged in a citizen science project called YAPES, in which they use their smartphones to submit comments and photos about how they get in touch with political issues. Challenges do exist for this form of research, however, from the relation between human observation and data quality to ethical questions.