The idea of citizen science brings with it tensions about the social nature of scientific truth.

The social and behavioral sciences share many characteristics with the «hard» or «natural» sciences, including a commitment to the systematic analysis of empirical data, whether quantitative or qualitative. Yet the subject matter of social science is sometimes elusive, involving many abstract entities like values and cultures, and its methods do not always involve measurement or experimentation.

Economic restructuring in the media industry has eliminated many professional journalists’ jobs, reductions that may have been hardest on specialized journalists reporting areas like science, technology, economics, or international affairs.