Citizen science and global biodiversity

Introduction

In this week you will be introduced to citizen science projects and activities, which will give you an opportunity to appreciate the benefits of becoming a citizen scientist and joining citizen science communities.

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By the end of this week, you should be able to:

  • understand the role of citizen science as a tool for scientific investigation (enquiry) and research
  • describe the practice, growth and development of citizen science
  • recognise how citizen science engages the public with science
  • understand how, when and why citizen science supports biological recording (environmental monitoring).

The Open University would really appreciate a few minutes of your time to tell us about yourself and your expectations for the course before you begin, in our optional start-of-course survey. Participation will be completely confidential and we will not pass on your details to others.