Challenges and opportunities of technology use for coordinators of animal-related citizen science projects: a scoping review

Citizen science coordinators are increasingly using digital technologies such as smartphones, web platforms and social media to engage participants and execute projects. However, this could bring unintended social consequences that may affect the sustainability of, and engagement in projects. These impacts are not yet well documented. Following the PRISMA framework, we performed a scoping review to understand the challenges and opportunities experienced by coordinators arising from technology. Using terms for technology, citizen science/community-based projects and biodiversity/animal monitoring we searched across Web of Science, Proquest and Scopus. Articles that did not report on any animal-related citizen science projects or use mobile phone technologies, applications, websites or social media were screened out. 153 studies were included in the data extraction which involved identifying information on coordinator experiences, technology use and study design. This data was analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic synthesis. Social media was the most commonly used technology (n = 80, 52%), and adoption and implementation of technologies were predominantly top-down decisions with little consultation with communities. Benefits of technology reported across the studies included customisation capabilities and facilitating public awareness and group organisation at low cost. Challenges reported included accessibility across geographic areas, conflicting goals between coordinators and participants, and issues with data quality and quantity. The review highlights a need to build technology engagement with communities, increase consideration of local community contexts, especially in the Global South where very few studies considered community needs, and explore technological solutions towards improving data quality. These changes would help to foster greater engagement, promote inclusivity and shared stewardship, and increase the value of citizen science data for participants and coordinators.