Best Practices for Data Management in Citizen Science - An Indian Outlook

Citizen science has been in practice since the 1800s and is an important source of data for scientists and other applied users. It plays a vital role in democratizing science, providing equitable access to scientific participation and data, helps build the capacity of its participants, inculcates the spirit of scientific endeavor and discovery and sensitizes participants towards species and habitat conservation, creating a sense of stewardship towards nature. In recent years, citizen science, especially in biodiversity, has rapidly developed with the rising popularity of smartphones, and widespread access to the internet, leading to wider adoption globally. India has also witnessed a surge in the number of new citizen science projects being initiated and increased participation in these projects. With more proponents looking at initiating such projects, there is little documentation from an Indian perspective on setting up, collecting, managing, and maintaining biodiversity-focused citizen science projects, especially in a data-management context. We have attempted to fill this void by examining the best practices across the data life cycle of citizen science projects while keeping in mind sensitivities and scenarios in India. We hope this will prove to be an important reference for citizen science practitioners looking to better manage their data in their projects.