Citizen Science: Crowdsourced Research Studies

Research studies are fascinating and important. Without these studies, we would definitely not be as advanced a society as we are now. But I believe the current process is slightly broken. If the status quo was good enough, we could certainly continue on- but it is my strong opinion that in order to evolve as species, we must always be in the pursuit of “better than average.”

The following graphic illustrates the current process used by researchers:

Closed Science

Do you notice a problem with this process? No? I agree- at first glance, it seems pretty solid. But if you look closer you can see that the only people that are ever involved in the process operation are the researchers. From end to end, the current research cycle is closed. By the time the research findings are published, it is too late for the public to contribute. What if we had alternate hypotheses? What if we would have designed the experiment differently?

Just as a symphony cannot be performed by one artist- research should not be conducted by a few select individuals. Study publications have the ability to influence public policy and change our lives in a variety of unknown ways- we should at least all have the opportunity to contribute ideas and question it. The saying “two heads are better than one” is a…