Citizen science practices for computational social science research: The conceptualization of pop-up experiments

Abstract

Under the name of Citizen Science, many innovative practices in which volunteers partner up with scientists to pose and answer real-world questions are growing rapidly worldwide. Citizen Science can furnish ready-made solutions with citizens playing an active role. However, this framework is still far from being well established as a standard tool for computational social science research. Here, we present our experience in bridging gap between computational social science and the philosophy underlying Citizen Science, which in our case has taken the form of what we call "pop-up experiments." These are non-permanent, highly participatory collective experiments which blend features developed by big data methodologies and behavioral experimental protocols with the ideals of Citizen Science. The main issues to take into account whenever planning experiments of this type are classified, discussed and grouped into three categories: infrastructure, public engagement, and the knowledge return for citizens. We explain the solutions we have implemented, providing practical examples grounded in our own experience in an urban context (Barcelona, Spain). Our aim here is that this work will serve as a guideline for groups willing to adopt and expand such in vivo practices and we hope it opens up the debate regarding the possibilities (and also the limitations) that the Citizen Science framework can offer the study of social phenomena.