Research Ethics in Citizen Science

Abstract

This chapter outlines some of the main ethical issues in citizen science research, a new research approach that involves lay members of the public in research for which they are not necessarily professionally trained. Although some of this work is covered by existing research ethics regulations, much is not; and it is not clear how to ensure ethical citizen science research. The chapter briefly describes citizen science research, including the nature of its relationship to existing regulations. It also outlines some of the ethical issues that arise in citizen science research—some familiar, some novel—and offers “trust architecture” as a concept to guide researchers in considering how to satisfy the ethical demands of their work.

“A Cohort of Pirate Ships”: Biomedical Citizen Scientists’ Attitudes Toward Ethical Oversight

“…Further, interviewees identified ethical priorities that go beyond those described in the Belmont Report, such as commitments to communities, that might serve to, as Ikemoto (2017, p. 566) observed, "situat[e] science as a tool for social justice." These findings suggest that, depending on the biomedical citizen science project, reliance solely on the Belmont Report (and the Common Rule that builds on it) to guide its ethical review might not be appropriate or sufficient from the perspective of participants (Rasmussen 2019;Rasmussen 2021).…”

“…For example, one of the three ethical principles that guide IRB review-respect for persons-is usually operationalized as a requirement to obtain informed consent from research subjects. But when citizen scientists are both executing and serving as the subjects of research, it is not clear who should provide consent or how to ensure that it is sufficiently informed (Rasmussen 2021).…”

A best–worst scaling experiment to prioritize concern about ethical issues in citizen science reveals heterogeneity on people-level v. data-level issues

“…As citizen science approaches in research grow in popularity, attention is focusing on the ethical issues they raise 7 – 16 . Some issues are new to research ethics and stem from the potentially multifaceted contributions of citizen scientists to the research process (e.g., the potential for projects to overburden participants with unpaid “work” or not provide appropriate attribution to participants 8 , 9 , 11 , 12 , 14 ). Other issues result from citizen science’s challenge to current interpretations of research ethics rules and norms (e.g., the assessment of risks and benefits for participants who both act as traditional research subjects and collect, manage, or analyze data 10 , 11 , 14 ).…”

“…Some issues are new to research ethics and stem from the potentially multifaceted contributions of citizen scientists to the research process (e.g., the potential for projects to overburden participants with unpaid “work” or not provide appropriate attribution to participants 8 , 9 , 11 , 12 , 14 ). Other issues result from citizen science’s challenge to current interpretations of research ethics rules and norms (e.g., the assessment of risks and benefits for participants who both act as traditional research subjects and collect, manage, or analyze data 10 , 11 , 14 ). Yet another class of issues encompasses known issues in research ethics that are potentially aggravated in citizen science contexts (e.g., the use or availability of data in ways inconsistent with expectations of participants and contributors 13 , 14 ).…”

“…Other issues result from citizen science’s challenge to current interpretations of research ethics rules and norms (e.g., the assessment of risks and benefits for participants who both act as traditional research subjects and collect, manage, or analyze data 10 , 11 , 14 ). Yet another class of issues encompasses known issues in research ethics that are potentially aggravated in citizen science contexts (e.g., the use or availability of data in ways inconsistent with expectations of participants and contributors 13 , 14 ).…”