Abstract
Citizen science networks are a recent global phenomenon, with associated communities of practice that have emerged to support growth in the field and the development of practices. Effective communities of practice are dependent on the interactions from the social network underpinning the community. We examined the Australian citizen science practitioner network, using a combined social network analysis and survey approach. Our goal was to understand the structure and characteristics of this network, to establish who participates in this network, where and how interactions occur, and explore what participation achieves for the users. The Australian citizen science practitioner network has benefited from face-to-face citizen science events to make important connections that have been leveraged to benefit other working relationships and positive outcomes, especially for early-career practitioners and women within the network. How the community of practice continues to navigate successful knowledge exchange across society and science, whether through interactions in face-to-face or virtual settings, will need to be addressed as the community continues to grow in scope and size. In particular, the network will need to consider supporting key individuals who play important bridging functions across the citizen science practitioner network. The emergence of transdisciplinarity amongst those working in citizen science is a promising property of this learning community that is worth working strategically to maintain.
Highlights
Within the past few years, several organisations across the globe have emerged to support a growing number of networks of citizen scientists (Storksdieck et al 2016), whose goals include building expertise amongst members through sharing of knowledge (Gobel et al 2016)
Navigating successful knowledge exchange across society and science, whether through interactions in face-to-face or virtual settings, will be a challenge as the community continues to grow in scope and size (Wenger, McDermott, and Snyder 2002; Riedy 2017; Vincent et al 2018)
Scientific enquiry increasingly relies on networks of citizen scientists to create and share knowledge and it is important to determine how networks of citizen science practitioners develop and what makes them work well
Summary
Within the past few years, several organisations across the globe have emerged to support a growing number of networks of citizen scientists (Storksdieck et al 2016), whose goals include building expertise amongst members through sharing of knowledge (Gobel et al 2016). The emergence of shared interest often results in communities of practice, which are typically informal, self-organising groups of individuals who advance their concerns or interests through regular interactions (Wenger, McDermott, and Snyder 2002; Riel and Polin 2004). Interactions amongst some members of these global citizen science networks has resulted in a growing interest in the practice of citizen science, that is, the management and support of citizen science programs. What motivates citizen science practitioners to engage in a practitioner community of practice is yet to be described, as is a description of how relationships develop or the characteristics of typical interactions
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