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Article ID: CBB510363901

Transparency and secrecy in citizen science: Lessons from herping (2021)

Quinn, Aleta (Author)

Studies in History and Philosophy of Science
Volume: 85
Pages: 208-217

URI: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0039368120301941

DOI: 10.1016/j.shpsa.2020.10.010

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Social networks Mobile applications Herpetology Philosophy of science Science and ethics Citizen participation Secrecy Privacy Moral and ethical aspects Digital technologies Citizen science; community science 21st century

In this paper I will outline a worry that citizen science can promote a kind of transparency that is harmful. I argue for the value of secrecy in citizen science. My argument will consist of analysis of a particular community (herpers), a particular citizen science platform (iNaturalist, drawing contrasts with other platforms), and my own travels in citizen science. I aim to avoid a simple distinction between science versus non-science, and instead analyze herping as a rich practice [MacIntyre, 2007]. Herping exemplifies citizen science as functioning simultaneously within and outside the sphere of science. I show that herpers have developed communal systems of transmitting and protecting knowledge. Ethical concerns about secrecy are inherently linked to these systems of knowledge. My over-arching aim is to urge caution in the drive to transparency, as the concepts of transparency and secrecy merit close scrutiny. The concerns I raise are complementary to those suggested by previous philosophical work, and (I argue) resist straightforward solutions.

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