A Ciência Cidadã: Passado, Presente e Futuro do Envolvimento Público na Investigação Científica

Cristina Luís

doi:10.21814/rlec.4051

Authors

Cristina Luís Centro Interuniversitário de História das Ciências e da Tecnologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8005-9624

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21814/rlec.4051

Keywords:

citizen science, public engagement, motivations, research, history

Abstract

When the relationship between science and society takes on a more prominent role, initiatives that allow greater involvement and dialogue between both parties become increasingly relevant. In this context, the past decade has seen an enormous growth of a practice known as citizen science as a form of public participation in scientific research that promotes the faster advance of scientific knowledge and contributes to greater collaboration between science and society. This article presents a brief overview of the main aspects of citizen science, how this practice emerged and how it mobilised the involvement of society in the past, particularly by analysing examples related to biodiversity recording and outlining the current situation in Portugal. It includes some suggestions for developing future actions in this field, particularly studies that analyse the motivations to participate in scientific research, allowing for a more open and shared science.

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Author Biography

Cristina Luís, Centro Interuniversitário de História das Ciências e da Tecnologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal

Cristina Luís has a PhD in biology, she is an assistant researcher at the Department of History and Philosophy of Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, and a member of Interuniversity Centre for the History of Sciences and Technology. She conducts research in the areas of science communication, citizen science, science and society, history of science and history of horse domestication. She is a lecturer in the area of science communication. For more than 10 years she has been collaborating with Centre for Research and Studies in Sociology, University Institute of Lisbon, and with the National Museum of Natural History and Science, University of Lisbon, having been involved and coordinated several projects and initiatives in the areas of public engagement in science and citizen science. She coordinates the Portuguese participation in the NEWSERA project, funded by the European Commission, which explores citizen science as a new paradigm for science communication. She is part of the team promoting the Portuguese Citizen Science Network. She coordinates a research project that aims to document the history of citizen science in Portugal. She is chief-editor of HoST – Journal of History of Science and Technology.

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