Researching or researching with the public? A systematic review on knowledge co-production through citizen science

Abstract

In this systematic literature review using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses protocol, we analyse 211 articles to identify the commonly studied factors impacting both the scientific and social outcomes of knowledge co-production through citizen science (hereby as ‘scientific and social outcomes’). First, we notice that a similar extent of scholarly attention goes to both outcomes in the academic discourses, and both outcomes are often addressed together. Second, we identify and synthesize twenty-nine variables into three themes, citizens, project settings, and broader context, and we argue these three perspectives need to be jointly analysed to understand..