Environmental citizen science
Environmental citizen science refers to projects in which people who are not professional scientists take part in structured, collective efforts to investigate some aspect of their environment, such as a source of pollution or the prevalence of wildlife. I apply a sociological lens to such projects in my new book, Science by the People: Participation, Power, and the Politics of Environmental Knowledge (Rutgers University Press, August 2019, with co-author Aya Kimura). The book explores cases in the United States, Japan, Mexico, and other parts of the world, where citizen scientists have investigated the impacts of shale oil and gas, nuclear power, and genetically engineered crops. I collected data about 35 civil society organizations that were monitoring the impacts of shale gas development on their local watersheds in New York or Pennsylvania. I also gathered data about other examples of citizen science relating to fracking and agricultural biotechnology. My co-author contributed data from her ongoing research in Japan on the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster and other cases of citizen science.
Key idea: Logics of citizen science
One of the key findings of my research on watershed monitoring organizations is that citizen science is guided by multiple, sometimes conflicting logics. In sociology, logics are organizing principles that serve as a basis for action (which are usually assumed, not stated explicitly). Watershed monitoring groups, for example, have practices that are grounded in logics of consciousness-raising, environmental policing, and science. These logics arise from different sources; for example, regulatory authorities may encourage watershed groups to adopt an environmental policing approach, while university partners may encourage a logic of scientific inquiry. This discovery has practical implications. If citizen science projects are guided by multiple, conflicting logics, participants are likely to experience tensions that undermine project cohesion.
Kinchy, Abby, Kirk Jalbert, and Jessica Lyons (2014) “What is Volunteer Water Monitoring Good For? Fracking and the Plural Logics of Participatory Science,” Political Power and Social Theory, vol. 27.
Key idea: Dilemmas of citizen science
My observation of competing logics of citizen science led me to further investigate the dilemmas or tensions that arise in efforts to involve the public in scientific work. My new book, Science by the People, shows that diverse citizen science projects face a common set of dilemmas, relating to austerity pressures, presumed boundaries between science and activism, reductionist tendencies that privilege quantifiable indicators, and difficulties moving between scales of environmental problems. Doing environmental citizen science requires understanding and navigating these dilemmas. By unpacking the politics of citizen science, this book aims to help people negotiate a complex political landscape and choose paths that bring about social change and environmental sustainability.
Kimura, Aya H. and Abby Kinchy (2019) Science by the People: Participation, Power, and the Politics of Environmental Knowledge. Rutgers University Press.
Additional Selected Publications
Kimura, Aya H. and Abby Kinchy (2018) "Citizen Science in Agri-Food Systems: Lessons and Recommendations," Report on the outcomes of a workshop at the University of Hawai`i-Mānoa, April 27-29, 2018, supported by the National Science Foundation (Award #1743138).
Kimura, Aya H. and Abby Kinchy (2016) “Citizen Science: Probing the Virtues and Contexts of Participatory Research,” Engaging Science, Technology, & Society 2: 331-361.
Kinchy, Abby (2017) “Baseline Data and Democracy: How Participatory Water Monitoring Shapes Future Projections and Political Action in the Marcellus Shale Fracking Boom,” Science as Culture (26)1, 88-110, DOI: 10.1080/09505431.2016.1223113
Jalbert, Kirk and Abby Kinchy (2016) “Sense and Influence: Environmental Monitoring Tools and the Power of Citizen Science,” Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning 18(3): 379-397.
Key idea: Logics of citizen science
One of the key findings of my research on watershed monitoring organizations is that citizen science is guided by multiple, sometimes conflicting logics. In sociology, logics are organizing principles that serve as a basis for action (which are usually assumed, not stated explicitly). Watershed monitoring groups, for example, have practices that are grounded in logics of consciousness-raising, environmental policing, and science. These logics arise from different sources; for example, regulatory authorities may encourage watershed groups to adopt an environmental policing approach, while university partners may encourage a logic of scientific inquiry. This discovery has practical implications. If citizen science projects are guided by multiple, conflicting logics, participants are likely to experience tensions that undermine project cohesion.
Kinchy, Abby, Kirk Jalbert, and Jessica Lyons (2014) “What is Volunteer Water Monitoring Good For? Fracking and the Plural Logics of Participatory Science,” Political Power and Social Theory, vol. 27.
Key idea: Dilemmas of citizen science
My observation of competing logics of citizen science led me to further investigate the dilemmas or tensions that arise in efforts to involve the public in scientific work. My new book, Science by the People, shows that diverse citizen science projects face a common set of dilemmas, relating to austerity pressures, presumed boundaries between science and activism, reductionist tendencies that privilege quantifiable indicators, and difficulties moving between scales of environmental problems. Doing environmental citizen science requires understanding and navigating these dilemmas. By unpacking the politics of citizen science, this book aims to help people negotiate a complex political landscape and choose paths that bring about social change and environmental sustainability.
Kimura, Aya H. and Abby Kinchy (2019) Science by the People: Participation, Power, and the Politics of Environmental Knowledge. Rutgers University Press.
Additional Selected Publications
Kimura, Aya H. and Abby Kinchy (2018) "Citizen Science in Agri-Food Systems: Lessons and Recommendations," Report on the outcomes of a workshop at the University of Hawai`i-Mānoa, April 27-29, 2018, supported by the National Science Foundation (Award #1743138).
Kimura, Aya H. and Abby Kinchy (2016) “Citizen Science: Probing the Virtues and Contexts of Participatory Research,” Engaging Science, Technology, & Society 2: 331-361.
Kinchy, Abby (2017) “Baseline Data and Democracy: How Participatory Water Monitoring Shapes Future Projections and Political Action in the Marcellus Shale Fracking Boom,” Science as Culture (26)1, 88-110, DOI: 10.1080/09505431.2016.1223113
Jalbert, Kirk and Abby Kinchy (2016) “Sense and Influence: Environmental Monitoring Tools and the Power of Citizen Science,” Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning 18(3): 379-397.