Perceptions of Citizen Science and its Use as a Tool for Policy Development: a case study of Charleston Waterkeeper's citizen science programs
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Copenhaver, Alexandra Jean
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To justify the creation of policies, there must be data to ground the underlying arguments for the policy. One underutilized avenue for collecting data for policy development is citizen science. In Charleston, SC, Charleston Waterkeeper has been conducting local citizen science projects that collect data on water quality in the Charleston Lowcountry since 2009. While these studies have been ongoing for quite some time, they have had comparatively little political impact due in part to a perceived lack of quality control in citizen science projects. The aim of this thesis was to identify how citizen science data is perceived both by those participating in the science and by experts, as well as whether data collected by Charleston Waterkeeper’s citizen science projects can be used for policy development. Additionally, this study examined motivating factors for citizen science participation. Through this study, Charleston Waterkeeper’s volunteer citizen scientists were surveyed, and representatives from multiple state agencies and nonprofits were interviewed to better understand how they view citizen science and its potential within policy development in the Charleston area. The results of this study showed that while citizen science is generally well perceived, and has many varied and important uses, it may not be a useful tool for policy development on its own, rather it should be used in conjunction with more traditionally collected data as supporting evidence. Additionally, this study identified data quality, volunteer training quality, and longevity of the study as key factors in the classification of data as usable for policy development, Furthermore, the interviews completed during this study shed light on some quality assurance methods, the implementation of which may yield citizen science data more palatable to decision-makers. Finally, the top motivating factors for participation in citizen science with Charleston Waterkeeper included passion for the local environment, desire to be part of a community with similar interests, pride of place, a desire to make the world a better place for future generations, a desire to give back to and help the community, and a general desire to help the environment. The most commonly cited environmental concerns were habitat and diversity loss, litter and pollution, and water quality issues.