Towards user engagement models for citizen science: initiatives in the digital cultural heritage domain

Citizen science is enjoying increasing popularity attracting people who are not professionally trained to be researchers, but are willing to contribute to a wide range of research activities. Widespread adoption of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), in particular smartphones and social media, allows for easily accessible and innovative ways for disparate and numerous voluntary and professional researchers to work together. Nevertheless, while current technologies boost participatory culture, citizen science is not a modern phenomenon - it was particularly prominent during the nineteenth century. The similarities and differences in the large-scale engagement of citizens to support academic tasks in diverse times are still being explored in detail; a flagship project in this domain is Constructing Scientific Communities. Citizen Science in the 19th and 21st Centuries (Constructing Scientific Communities 2014-2016).