Amateur science

Context

It is often suggested that amateur science disappeared when science professionalised at the end of the 19^th/early 20^th century. However, in fields of natural history, there is a long and in fact continuous tradition of large-scale amateur involvement. Best known are the bird watchers, who collect large amounts of data on their field trips, used in the assessment of biodiversity and the state of nature. However, amateurs are also active in other many other areas of field biology (botany, entomology, herpetology, and so on, for most larger taxonomic branches of vertebrates and plant life). In addition, amateurs play important roles in other fields of ‘natural history’, such as archaeology, palaeontology, or astronomy.

The knowledge of amateur involvement is often so developed that the term ‘amateur’ is almost seen as an insult, suggesting that the knowledge should be inferior to professional knowledge. That is why sometimes the term ‘avocational scientist’ is preferred, for example in archaeology. Specialised vocational skills often involve taxonomical knowledge, perception skills honed through long experience or based on local knowledge, highly specialised or uniquely combined knowledge that is not (or no longer) trained in professional settings, or the ability to mobilise enthusiasm for labour-intensive research work.

There is some research on the role of amateurs in field biology, and particularly on the conflicting perceptions of nature between amateurs/conservationists and professional biologists working in the context of conservation policies. There is also some scarce research on amateur archaeology, but very little on other examples of vocational science, and virtually none on comparisons between them. Research on these topics will by necessity be exploratory, involve data collecting through interviews and participatory observation.

Specific topics

	Use of field data in conservation policy
	Disputes over management/ownership of such data
	Comparison of data collection/management between countries
	International cooperation of amateur data collection (e.g EU birding organisations)
	Management of shared data infrastructures (e.g. in astronomy)
	Development/improvement of instrumentation (e.g. cameras in astronomy, bat detectors in field biology, counting/observation/indexing tools)
	Validation/verification tools and practices in conservation databases
	Conflicts over access to sites in Dutch archaeology
	Amateurs in palaeontology

Examples of interesting questions

	How is knowledge validated in amateur networks?
	How do amateur networks develop their own research tools (equipment, data infrastructures)?
	What conflicts arise between vocational and professional knowledge production and/or government use of this knowledge, and how is this conflict managed?
	How do such processes differ between countries, between fields?

Suitable for students who…

	have a solid training in Science and Technology Studies (e.g. PSTS master), history of science, or similar, or
	combine basic training in social science (qualitative methods) with a demonstrable interest in or experience with vocational research communities, and
	have affinity with questions of local knowledge, the construction of knowledge, knowledge and professionalisation, or distributed knowledge production, or
	have a demonstrable interest in conservation policy

Opportunities

	Access to other researchers on this topic
	Possible internships combined with this topic
	Potential participation in planned future research on this topic

Additional resources

Ellis, R., & Waterton, C. (2004). Environmental citizenship in the making: the participation of volunteer naturalists in UK biological recording and biodiversity policy Science and Public Policy, 31(2), 95-105.

Lawrence, A., & Turnhout, E. (2005 NO CITE). Personal meaning in the public space: the bureaucratisation of biodiversity data in the Uk and the Netherlands. Paper presented at the Royal Geographical Society, Institute of British Geographers. from http://www.eci.ox.ac.uk/research/humaneco/downloads/lawrenceturnhout_2005.pdf.