公众对科学的贡献越来越普遍

So-called citizen science has become a significant force in several scholarly disciplines. The phenomenon can be found in both the natural and the social sciences, according to the largest systematic analysis to date on the topic, the results of which are published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE. 'We see that in particular researchers in the natural sciences have collected and classified data with the help of interested volunteers. In the social sciences, there has been a focus on inviting select parts of the public to find out the effects of science on people's everyday lives. This may for example concern environment problems and risks,' says Christopher Kullenberg, researcher in the field of theory of science.

To make the study as broad as possible, the analysis included 2568 scientific articles based on citizen science. A feat that turned out to be quite a challenge, since researchers in different disciplines have referred to citizen science in many different ways.

'Since the mid-1990s, it has usually been called "citizen science". But the terms "participatory science", "crowd science", "civic science" and even "street science" are also frequently used,'says Dick Kasperowski, assistant professor of theory of science.

All these concepts imply active participation by the public in some part of the research process.

'What's exciting about citizen science is that it enables non-researchers to make important contributions to science. If you think about it, it sounds impossible. After all, don't you need years of training and experience to dothat?' says Kullenberg.

The fields of biology and ecology have a long tradition of citizen science.Researchers have for example relied on the public's ability to observe andclassify animals and plant species for over 100 years. This has clearly been very successful and enormous amounts of data have been collected, for exampleto identify the migration patterns of birds and other animals. Such studies areimportant in order to understand the ongoing changes in the climate. Citizen science has recently also gone digital. For example, astronomy researchers have benefitted greatly from having regular citizens classify uncountable pictures of galaxies.

1 systematic

adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的

参考例句：

• The way he works isn't very systematic.他的工作不是很有条理。

•  The teacher made a systematic work of teaching.这个教师进行系统的教学工作。

2inviting

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted intothe room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。

• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

3 feat

n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的

参考例句：

•  Man's first landing on the moon was afeat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。

•  He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。

4 civic

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。

• The civic leaders helped to forward theproject.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

5 participation

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。

• The scheme aims to encourage increase dparticipation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

6migration

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。

•  He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

7 ongoing

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。

• The issues raised in the report relatedirectly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

8 galaxies

星系( galaxy的名词复数 )； 银河系； 一群（杰出或著名的人物）

参考例句：

• Quasars are the highly energetic cores of distant galaxies. 类星体是遥远星系的极为活跃的核心体。

•  We still don't know how many galaxies there are in the universe. 我们还不知道宇宙中有多少个星系。