Citizen Science represents the democratization of scientific research through meaningful public participation in inquiry, discovery, and knowledge creation. Also known as community science, participatory research, or crowd-sourced science, this domain encompasses projects where non-professional researchers contribute observations, analysis, or expertise to advance scientific understanding — from classifying galaxies to monitoring biodiversity to tracking disease outbreaks.
The first documented use of "citizen science" appeared in a 1989 MIT Technology Review article featuring community-based environmental laboratories. Since then, the field has exploded through digital platforms that connect millions of volunteers with research projects worldwide. Zooniverse, founded in 2007 and beginning with the Galaxy Zoo project, has grown into the world's largest platform for people-powered research. When Galaxy Zoo launched, it received 70,000 classifications per hour within a day, with over 50 million classifications submitted by 150,000 participants within a year. Today, Zooniverse hosts over 125 projects connecting researchers with nearly 3 million volunteers.
iNaturalist exemplifies another model of citizen science, creating a global biodiversity dataset through participant-reported wildlife observations. These platforms have revolutionized ecological research by enabling data collection at scales impossible for professional scientists alone. Studies estimate that Zooniverse volunteers contributed $1.5 million worth of research labor across just seven projects in 2010, and the platform has produced hundreds of peer-reviewed publications crediting volunteer contributors.