Maund, P;
Katherine, I;
Lawson, B;
Steadman, J;
Risely, K;
Cunningham, A;
Davies, Z;
(2020)
What motivates the masses: understanding why people contribute to conservation citizen science projects.
Biological Conservation
, 246
, Article 108587. 10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108587.
Preview |
Text
Cunningham_1-s2.0-S0006320719313771-main.pdf - Published Version Download (1MB) | Preview |
Abstract
Participation in conservation citizen science projects is growing rapidly and approaches to project design are diversifying. There has been a recent shift towards projects characterised by contributors collecting data in isolation and submitting findings online, with little training or opportunities for direct social interaction with other citizen scientists. While research is emerging on developing citizen science projects by optimising technological modalities, little consideration has been given to understanding what motivates individuals to voluntarily contribute data. Here, we use the Volunteer Functions Inventory, combined with open-ended questions, to demonstrate that the two strongest motivations underpinning participation, for both individuals who contribute data systematically (regularly; n = 177) and opportunistically (ad hoc basis; n = 218), are ‘Values’ and ‘Understanding’. People take part in such projects because they have an intrinsic value for the environment and want to support research efforts (representing ‘Values’), as well as wanting to learn and gain knowledge (signifying ‘Understanding’). Unlike more traditional citizen science projects that involve specific training and considerable time investments, contributors to these newer types of project are not motivated by the potential to develop their career or opportunities for social interaction. The person-level characteristics of contributors considered in this study did not reliably forecast levels of motivation, suggesting that predicting high levels of motivation is inherently more complex than is often speculated. We recommend avenues for future research that may further enhance our understanding of contributor motivations and the characteristics that may underpin levels of motivation.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | What motivates the masses: understanding why people contribute to conservation citizen science projects |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108587 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108587 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Keywords: | Connectedness to nature, Environment, Human behaviour, Environmental psychology, Volunteer Functions Inventory, Wildlife health |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences > Genetics, Evolution and Environment |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10095152 |
Archive Staff Only
 |
View Item |
