Youth Citizen Social Science -Incorporating Multimedia in the Data Collection

Authors: Sara Berge Lorenzen, Cathrine Marie Skovbo Winther,Aina Landsverk Hagen, Julie Ridley & Maria Turda

Handbook of Youth Social Citizen Science (Borgström, D., Canto-Farachala, P., Hagen, A. L., Norvoll, R., Rådmark, L. & Lorenzen, S.B. (Eds.). (2024). Handbook of Youth Citizen Social Science. Working with Young People and the Local Community for Social Change. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10566411)

Photography and video can be valuable in the data collection of a youth citizen science project. Taking photos and videos serves not just as documentation but also as a means of fostering important conversations, using the young citizen scientists’ own photos and video clips of their surroundings and observations. In addition, taking photos and video provides a tangible and engaging activity during fieldwork. For example, in YouCount, photovoice was an important method in many cases. In Italy, young citizen scientists using photovoice sparked critical discussions about the limitations and resources in their neighbourhoods, as well as their living conditions. In both Spain and the UK, researchers and young citizen scientists conducted photo walks to delve deeper into issues of belonging from the young people’s experiences and perspectives. In Norway, Polaroid cameras were a consistent part of the research kit, while in Denmark, photography was integrated into field studies conducted on bikes. Participatory video-making was key in Hungary’s Case B, where young citizen scientists produced video diaries and engaged in video-making exercises inspired by participatory theatre and art-based research methods. During their training, they created video interviews, and the data collection phase involved developing short social advertisements and creative video footage.