Virtual Community of Practice Modeled Within Participatory, Contributory, and Collaborative Online Citizen Science Projects

Online citizen science projects generate new knowledge through research that involves the public throughout the research process. Virtual communities of practice comprise a group of people who engage in learning to expand the domain of a shared concern. Virtual communities of practice and online citizen science projects manage learning, knowledge storage, mentorship, and a sense of community for participants. This dissertation investigated how leadership in online citizen science projects, managers, researchers, and designers, creates, maintains, and supports virtual communities of practice within participatory, contributory, and collaborative projects. Structured as four individual case studies and a culminating comparative multiple-case study, the maps and models produced in this study demonstrate that virtual communities of practice do exist within online citizen science projects and ascertain that online citizen science project communities and leadership practices strongly influenced the virtual community of practice models. The models align with Wenger-Trayner et al. (2023) and Barnett et al.’s (2013) theoretical frameworks, utilizing technology as a central pathway for designers, managers, and researchers to maintain a virtual community of practice and engage these leaders as full community members. Reframing how scientific knowledge is pursued, virtual communities of practice within online citizen science projects create distinct pathways for future scientific advancements (Cooper, 2016).