Open Research Forum: Citizen Science guest post by Éle Quinn

Today's post is by Éle Quinn, a health researcher and PhD student. Éle will be speaking at our Open Research Forum: “Collaborative Open Research Practices: Building Trust through Citizen Science” on 7-8 April 2025. With three events over two days, hosted by the Open and Digital Research Team in the Library, this forum will showcase how open research practices such as citizen science can improve scientific transparency. Please register here for Éle's talk, and learn more about the Spéirscéalta book launch and workshop with the Irish Citizen Science Network.

Éle's Ph.D. is all about The People's Review. She believes that research is for everyone, and that we all have a right to access, use, and be included in research – especially health research. 

Éle is passionate about public and patient involvement (PPI) in health research, and using creative ways to make research more accessible, enjoyable and engaging! Before starting her Ph.D., Éle worked as an occupational therapist in disability services. When Éle is not doing research-related stuff she likes to spend her time tending to her beloved plants, drinking coffee in a cozy café, or hiking.

The People’s Review – opening science up to the wider public

It is difficult to make health decisions. We are exposed to a huge amount of information available 24/7 on our smartphones, in the media, from family and friends, you name it. It is easy to find all sorts of news, figures, and advice about healthcare. However, it’s not so easy to find reliable sources of information based on the best available evidence. So what can we do about this? Well, systematic reviews can help. 

A systematic review is a tool used by researchers, clinicians, and others to find all the evidence that has been published about a healthcare treatment. Systematic reviews use clear and careful steps to find relevant studies, assess the trustworthiness of the studies, and put together the results of those studies. This method gives patients the best evidence available about whether a healthcare treatment works or not. However, systematic reviews are complex and hard to understand. So, The People's Review aims to give the public an opportunity to learn about systematic reviews, by doing a systematic review.

So, what is The People's Review?

The People's Review is an online citizen science project inviting members of the public to take charge of a systematic review. It is a systematic review for the public, and importantly, by the public. It is an opportunity for researchers, and the public to work together for the good of science to try and answer a question about a healthcare treatment, using the most reliable method – a systematic review! It is about opening up research, to the public, to help the them understand what systematic reviews are, why they are important and how they can be used to make everyday health choices.

What will The People's Review involve?

The People’s Review is broken down into eight separate stages that complement the key steps in a systematic review. The public will be invited to suggest and choose the review question, plan the review, do parts of the review, and decide how the results are shared. It will all take place online. There will be lots of help along the way with animated videos, training and interactive elements.

Who can get involved?

The People's Review will be open to everyone, anywhere in the world. All you need is a phone, laptop, or tablet! You don’t need any previous experience with health research, science, or systematic reviews. Indeed, The People's Review is designed specifically for people with no experience of health research at all!

What does The People's Review have to do with open science? 

The People's Review is committed to open science, which is also sometimes called open research or open scholarship. Open science aims to democratise research and make it more accessible, usable, rigorous, reproducible, equitable and trustworthy for all. 

Open science is about making research visible (transparency), making research accessible and usable (sharing), and involving and crediting more contributors to research (inclusivity). 

A core pillar of open science is citizen science. The European Citizen Science Association (ECSA) has designed a set of 10 principles that underlie good practice in citizen science. As a citizen science project, The People's Review is aligned with these principles. Find out more about how The People's Review aligns to citizen science.

If you are interested in taking part in The People's Review, you can visit the website www.thepeoplesreview.ie for more information. Stage 1 – Suggest a Question is opening very soon! Sign up to our newsletter and follow us on social media to be the first to hear.

Are you ready for more?

To hear more about Éle's research and other citizen science projects at the University of Galway, please register for the Open Research Forum.

If you have any questions, please email Dr. Jen Smith, Open Research Librarian.