Chapter highlights
Without an understanding of why and how people participate in citizen
science, some initiatives could miss their mark and fail to provide the expected benefits to science and society
Social scientists agree that people’s motivations are broad, that individuals can hold multiple motivations and that these can change over time
This project adopts a robust social scientific approach in order to provide evidence-based knowledge of the human dimensions of participation in citizen science
Citizen science is broadly defined as the participation of non-professional volunteers in professional science projects (Dickinson et al. 2010). As a scientific method, it is widely acknowledged to have an important role in delivering valuable environmental data from local to national scales (Roy et al. 2012, Haklay 2015a, see also Table 33 on stakeholder
motivations in this report). However, without an understanding of why and how people (non-professional volunteers) participate in citizen science, some initiatives could miss their mark and fail to provide the expected benefits to science and society (Roy et al. 2012). These social drivers of evidence-gathering by citizen scientists are often overlooked by stakeholders in favour of discussions around the need for and quality of the resulting data. This report, supported by the UKEOF, balances this with an approach based on social science in order to understand the personal needs, motivations, benefits and barriers which affect participation in environmental-based citizen science, both in terms of the citizen scientists themselves and other stakeholders, including a range of scientists (university, monitoring, policy, education, not using /data only), policy/evidence specialists and practitioners (science, engagement, education, community). Importantly, this study also incorporates the opinions of those volunteers who self-identify as environmental volunteers, in order to understand the
motivations of those already engaged in the environment in some way, and how they might be persuaded to participate in citizen science, if they are not already involved.
The report is structured around:
1. an extensive desk-based study of literature surrounding citizen science and environmental volunteering;
2. an online survey of environmental-based citizen scientists and environmental volunteers;
3. interviews with citizen science stakeholders, including scientists (university, monitoring, policy, education, not using/data only), policy/evidence specialists and practitioners (science, engagement, education, community);
4. information regarding project evaluation; and
5. conclusions and key findings regarding participant and stakeholder motivations and suggestions for further investigation.
In the remainder of this section, we outline the rationale behind the study, the importance of a social science approach, and the research questions that framed this study.
1.1 Rationale and who is this study for
Citizen science can deliver robust data to meet the needs of stakeholders from the local to the national scale (POSTnote 2014). However, in order to maximise the amount and quality of data that is returned, the human aspects of citizen science, which so far have been relatively
understudied, need examining. The research presented here is therefore timely and original, providing a wide range of stakeholders in the UK and beyond, including scientists, informed citizens, data users, practitioners such as Government agencies carrying out environmental monitoring, policymakers, social scientists, educators and the media, with insights into: why people participate in citizen science; what benefits they gain from it; and how motivations can be evaluated as part of citizen science projects. This study consolidates and improves current understandings of motivation and participation in citizen science in the UK, so that new and existing initiatives can be (re-)designed to take these factors into account, making them more likely to succeed, and easier to evaluate.
1.2 Social science approach
Social science is the study of the relationships between people and their connections with the social and natural worlds that surround them (ESRC 2016). Social scientists agree that people’s motivations are broad, that individuals can hold multiple motivations and that these can change over time (for an introduction to social science, see: della Porta and Keating 2008). Yet, these motivations need to be acknowledged and met by citizen science projects in order to maximise the return rates of participants (Roy et al. 2012). Citizen science is an ever-expanding field with projects varying in their levels of sophistication and demands on participants. Understanding how and why citizen scientists, environmental volunteers and stakeholders (including scientists (university, monitoring, policy, education, not using/data only), policy/evidence specialists and practitioners (science, engagement, education,
community)) are motivated to participate in citizen science projects demands a social science approach. To date, projects on the social dimensions of citizen science have tended to be an addition to natural science projects, or rather narrow in focus. This project adopts a robust social scientific approach in order to provide evidence-based knowledge of the human dimensions of participation in citizen science.
1.3 Objectives and research questions The project objectives were three-fold:
1. To conduct a desk-based review of existing literature on motivations and evaluation for citizen science;
2. To design, implement and analyse (a) an online survey of existing and potential citizen scientists and (b) interviews around the motivations of stakeholders in scientific, policy and practice communities (namely, scientists (university,
monitoring, policy, education, not using/data only), policy/evidence specialists and practitioners (science, engagement, education, community));
3. To deliver a final report and online materials to share the findings of the project, and make recommendations for future studies, especially to explore methods of citizen science project evaluation, as well as reinforce the vital role of the social sciences to citizen science, environmental monitoring and surveillance.
The research presented in this report seeks to answer 8 important questions identified by the authors and UKEOF partner organisations. Table 2 overleaf outlines the questions and the places where they have been discussed in this report.
Two further chapters emerged as a result of this study. Chapter 3 on definitions of citizen science and Chapter 9 on technology and citizen science.
1.4 Outline of report
In the remainder of the report, Chapter 2 gives an account of our methodological approach and our analysis of some basic data on our online survey respondents. Chapter 3 examines the
varying ways in which citizen science has been defined in this study. Chapters 4-10 combine material from the desk-based review, online survey and stakeholder interviews to answer our research questions, as well as a discussion on the role of technology in citizen science.
Chapter 11 is our conclusion and recommendations for future work. There is an extensive bibliography at the end of this report.
Research question Review Surveys Interviews Chapter
What are citizen scientists and
environmental volunteers motivations?
4 What would encourage citizen scientists
and environmental volunteers to participate for the first time or again?
5
How do citizen scientist and
environmental volunteer motivations vary over time?
4 & 5
How do citizen scientists and
environmental volunteers benefit from participation?
5
What are the key motivations for stakeholders in citizen science projects?
6 What are the barriers for stakeholders in
citizen science projects?
8 Do participant motivations match
stakeholder motivations?
7 How are citizen science projects
evaluated by stakeholders?
10 Table 2 Research questions by data source and chapter