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Making citizen science count: Best practices and challenges of citizen science projects on plastics in aquatic environments
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This paper reviews best practices and challenges for citizen science projects focused on plastic pollution in aquatic environments, finding that while citizen science can effectively gather large-scale data and raise public awareness, data quality and consistency remain significant challenges.
There is considerable scientific and societal concern about plastic pollution, which has resulted in citizen science projects to study the scale of the issue. Citizen science is a cost-effective way to gather data over a large geographical range while simultaneously raising public awareness on the problem. Because the experiences of researchers involved in these projects are not yet adequately covered, this paper presents the findings from ten semi-structured qualitative interviews with researchers leading a citizen science project on micro- or macroplastics. Our results show it is important to specify the goal(s) of the project and that expertise on communication and data science is needed. Furthermore, simple protocols, quality control, and engagement with volunteers and the public are key elements for successful projects. From these results, a framework with recommendations was drafted, which can be used by anyone who wants to develop or improve citizen science projects.
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This systematic review examines how citizen science programs track plastic pollution from land to sea. The research found that while public participation greatly expands data collection, inconsistent methods and data quality issues limit the scientific usefulness of the results. Better-designed citizen science programs could help communities monitor and respond to the microplastic pollution in their local environments.
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This paper describes a volunteer microplastic sampling program in Puget Sound, Washington, examining strategies for community participation and data quality in citizen science monitoring of marine plastic pollution. The program demonstrates how broad public involvement can generate spatially extensive environmental data at low cost.
Can we investigate microplastic pollution with school students? Experiences from eight years of citizen science research
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Researchers shared eight years of experience from the Plastic Pirates citizen science program involving over 24,000 school students and teachers in microplastic research across Germany, addressing challenges of contamination prevention, particle size, and sample processing in non-laboratory settings. The study evaluated the feasibility and scientific validity of engaging young citizen scientists in standardized riverine microplastic monitoring.
The potential contribution of citizen science data in the study of coastal microplastic and mesoplastic distributions
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Researchers analyzed citizen science data from the Big Microplastic Survey to assess the potential contribution of volunteer-collected observations to understanding coastal microplastic and mesoplastic distribution patterns, evaluating data quality and spatial coverage relative to conventional scientific monitoring.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.