ABSTRACT Skill-based outcomes play a prominent role in citizen science experiences as they are situated directly between the dual, intertwining goals of advancing science learning and science research. Regular and transparent assessment of volunteers’ science inquiry skills can support these goals, but we lack a comprehensive understanding of how these skills are assessed. To address this gap, we collected data from citizen science project leaders through questionnaires, interviews and a systematic literature review. Findings demonstrated that most projects targeted a narrow range of skills that centered on data collection. About half of questionnaire and interview respondents stated that they assess science inquiry skills, but many relied on informal or indirect methods such as observations and conversations lacking protocols. Less than a third of these respondents and only 13% of reviewed articles administered formal assessments of skills, such as tests and performance measures based on volunteers’ submitted data. Challenges associated with skill assessment included lack of time, staff, expertise, funding and supporting resources. Overall, our study provides clear evidence of the limited breadth and assessment of skills targeted within citizen science, and points to the need for resources that promote and expand the use of assessment addressing science inquiry skills.

中文翻译：

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评估公民科学志愿者的科学探究技能：该领域的快照

摘要基于技能的结果在公民科学经验中扮演着重要角色，因为它们直接位于推进科学学习和科学研究的双重目标之间。定期透明地评估志愿者的科学探究技能可以支持这些目标，但是我们对如何评估这些技能缺乏全面的了解。为了解决这一差距，我们通过问卷调查，访谈和系统的文献综述，从公民科学项目负责人那里收集了数据。调查结果表明，大多数项目针对的是针对数据收集的少量技能。大约一半的调查问卷和访谈受访者表示，他们评估科学探究技能，但许多人依靠非正式或间接的方法，例如缺乏协议的观察和对话。在这些受访者中，只有不到三分之一的受访者和审阅的文章中只有13％对技能进行了正式评估，例如基于志愿者提交的数据进行的测试和绩效评估。与技能评估相关的挑战包括缺乏时间，人员，专业知识，资金和支持资源。总体而言，我们的研究提供了明确的证据，证明在公民科学领域内针对技能的广度和评估范围有限，并指出需要资源来促进和扩展针对科学探究技能的评估的使用。