Analysis of citizen participation in science: perceptions of the different actors involved
- Autores: Carolina Llorente
- Directores de la Tesis: Mar Carrió Llach (dir. tes.), Gemma Revuelta de la Poza (codir. tes.)
- Lectura: En la Universitat Pompeu Fabra ( España ) en 2020
- Idioma: español
- Tribunal Calificador de la Tesis: Carolina Moreno Castro (presid.), Jorge Pérez Sanchez (secret.), David Bueno i Torrens (voc.)
- Programa de doctorado: Programa de Doctorado en Biomedicina por la Universidad Pompeu Fabra
- Materias:
- Enlaces
- Tesis en acceso abierto en: TDX
- Resumen
There is a global trend for a broader, more inclusive and open science where citizens play an active role in research, innovation and governance. This new approach of science production implies a structural change in the science and technology system as well as a change in the science-society relationships. In this context, there is a need for more research to better understand this situation and scientists’ and citizens’ perceptions and limitations in order to propose effective solutions to foster citizen participation in science.
This thesis analyses citizen participation in science in Spain, a country very active in scientific research that is recently promoting society inclusion in this process. The investigation of this thesis is organized in three studies that have contributed to better understanding the current situation by analysing for the first time in Spain three key aspects: 1) Current participation practices in science, 2) Scientists’ perceptions of Spanish society and 3) Civil society organizations’ managers’ perceptions of participating in science.
This research has revealed aspects of citizen participation in science that were unknown until now. Among others, the study identified training needs (both for citizens and for investigators or coordinators of participatory activities) and the need for better science communication at different levels (and with different objectives) throughout the entire research process.
We have also detected important differences between the perceptions of Spanish scientists about the public and what is included in official reports of public perception of science in Spain. Specifically, these differences relate to the sources of information used by the public, the level of public recognition that science and researchers receive, the level of scientific education and the level of interest in science and technology.
The findings also suggest that civil society organizations are unaware of their own knowledge and potential in producing a more socially relevant science. There is a need to solve the divergence of objectives, research continuity and lack of communication between civil society organizations and the academia to foster citizen participation in the science and technology system.
The research carried out during this thesis have contributed to better understanding citizen-science relationships in Spain. Therefore, the new knowledge generated with this thesis can be taken into account to propose strategies to foster citizen participation in science. To face the challenges detected and better understand the situation, the author of this thesis proposes future research lines.
