An analytics approach to health and healthcare in citizen science communications on Twitter

Abstract

Background

Citizen science is a growing practice in which volunteers, including non-scientists, conduct or contribute to research by collecting and analyzing data. The increasing importance of citizen science in the last years has led to an increased interest in detecting how citizen science can contribute to scientific advancements in different areas. Recent research shows that citizen science has become a means of engagement between scientist and the public, encouraging scientific curiosity and promoting scientific knowledge.

Methods

In this article, we report on how to apply computational analysis techniques to Twitter messages to reveal the impact of citizen science in health-related areas. The main objectives are (1) to characterize central topics of these discussions, and (2) to identify particularly important actors in these social media networks.

Results

For the topics, our findings suggest that sustainable development goals, technologies and health, and COVID-19 are those most addressed by the users. Other topics represented in the data are cancer, public health, mental health, and health and well being of sea and earth living creatures related to sustainable development goals.

Conclusion

Based on our results, those entities or actors who are most cited and retweeted are Twitter accounts of projects and not primarily individual professionals or citizen scientists.