The severe increase in environmental plastic pollution is at the very heart of the society current concerns. If so far its impact on environment and human health remains not well known, the vast majority of scientics agrees on the fact that it may represent a major environmental issue with dramatic consequences on the whole ecosystem. Participatory research is at the core of various plastic waste monitoring programs. As plastic pollution is directly related to nowaday lifestyles and consumption modes, involving civil society apears crucial in order to raise awareness and involve citizens in the decision-making process to contain plastic pollution. Microplastics (plastic particles from 1 nm to 5 mm) are responsible for an hardly discernible pollution that have penetrated almost all marine and terrestrial ecosystems. An increasing number of studies is working on the understanding of their origine and impacts. For 3 years, Expedition MED NGO have been conducting a participatory research program by receiving and training citizens on its vessel for the sampling of surface water microplastics in Mediterranean sea. Samples are partially analyzed onboard, and then sent to public research institutions for deeper analysis. Microplastics analysis aims to identify their concentration, their morphological characteristics (size, shape, color), their concentration in contaminants such as heavy metals or endrocrine disrupters and to study the microorganisms that colonize plastics (bacteria, virus, fungi, etc.). Historically, participatory research protocols are designed by scientists for study scale-up and diversification of the sampling localizations. Citizens are mainly involved in the samping step, and their participation to the analysis step remains quite limited. Considering microplastics contamination studies, this is explained by a number of reasons. Due to their high concentraitons and small sizes, microplastics analysis is particularly difficult and time consuming. Timelines between the sampling step and the analysis step are significantly important, even for specialized academic actors. Furthermore, analysis methods require high-tech equipments that are not accessible for civil structures actors. The ambition of this project is therefore to develop microplastics analysis protocols that can be implemented during field participatory research programs. The goal is to involve citizens not only during the sampling step but also during the analysis step, in order to train them during the whole scientific study process. It should strengthen the implication and understanding concerning microplastics pollution, its impacts and origins, while supporting a stronger collaboration between academic and civil societies in order to highlight suitable solutions for plastic pollution reduction.