Citizen science needs a name change

• DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2023.03.003
• Publication Date: 2023-04-21T22:49:49Z
• Authors: Elizabeth R. Ellwood; Gregory B. Pauly; June Ahn; Kate Golembiewski; Lila M. Higgins; Miguel A. Ordeñana; Matt von Konrat
• Keywords: Citizen Science; Community Participation; Humans; 10. No inequality

Amidst attention towards improving equality, inclusivity, and diversity, citizen science is woefully anachronistic in its name. There is a critical need for this field to distance itself from the exclusionary nature of the term 'citizen'. We provide reasoning for abandoning this term and an outline for adopting a new name.