Peer Production in Citizen Science A Guide

Personal Science

During my thesis, I collaborated with the personal science community to design a peer production approach in citizen science for a real use case. Here you find an introduction to personal science.

Introduction to Personal Science

Personal science has been defined as the practice of using empirical methods (i.e. collecting data) to answer one’s own personal questions (Wolf & de Groot, 2020). Often, these “self-research” questions are related to health or well-being. Individuals engage in self-research for various reasons, including their interest in experimenting with technology and data or addressing pressing health concerns (Senabre Hidalgo et al., 2021).

This community emerged from the Quantified Self movement and the increased accessibility of sensor technology and smartphone or wearable apps, making it easier to collect data on various aspects such as heart rate, mood, or physical activity.

Figure 1. Conceptual framework of a personal science cycle (Wolf & de Groot, 2020)

Personal Science is considered a form of citizen science in a broader sense (Heyen, 2016; Haklay et al., 2021). Self-researchers employ empirical methods to explore their questions, primarily aiming to gain practical self-knowledge rather than generalizable knowledge. It resembles single-subject research, a common practice in medical research, but with the unique aspect that they serve as both the principal investigator and the subject of their research. Some self-researchers publish scientific articles about their self-research projects, or set the seed for patient-led research projects (see for example the work by Sara Riggare and OpenAPS).

Examples

Here are some talks self-researchers gave about their projects in the context of Quantified Self’s “Show and Tell” talk events:

How can I get in touch with the community?

If you want to discuss your own self-research projects with like-minded people, or just want to chat or see what community members have been working on, there are several ways to get in touch:

References and further reading

  • Haklay, M., Fraisl, D., Greshake Tzovaras, B., Hecker, S., Gold, M., Hager, G., … & Vohland, K. (2021). Contours of citizen science: a vignette study. Royal Society open science, 8(8). https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.202108
  • Heyen, N. B. (2016). Self-tracking as knowledge production: Quantified self between prosumption and citizen science. In Lifelogging: Digital self-tracking and Lifelogging-between disruptive technology and cultural transformation (pp. 283-301). Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden.
  • Senabre Hidalgo, E., Ball, M. P., Opoix, M., & Greshake Tzovaras, B. (2022). Shared motivations, goals and values in the practice of personal science: a community perspective on self-tracking for empirical knowledge. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 9(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-022-01199-0
  • Wolf, G. I., & De Groot, M. (2020). A conceptual framework for personal science. Frontiers in Computer Science, 2. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomp.2020.00021