A “Sense of Place” in Public Participation in Scientific Research

Haywood, Benjamin

doi:10.1002/sce.21087

Cited by 89 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 116 publications

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“…). Concern about a place or ecosystem of personal value may motivate an individual to take stewardship action (Haywood ). Based on their contextual knowledge, conservation literate citizens identify paths toward, and may take, concrete action.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Place‐based and data‐rich citizen science as a precursor for conservation action

Haywood

Parrish

Dolliver

2016

Conservation Biology

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158

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Environmental education strategies have customarily placed substantial focus on enhancing ecological knowledge and literacy with the hope that, upon discovering relevant facts and concepts, participants will be better equipped to process and dissect environmental issues and, therefore, make more informed decisions. The assumption is that informed citizens will become active citizens--enthusiastically lobbying for, and participating in, conservation-oriented action. We surveyed and interviewed and used performance data from 432 participants in the Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team (COASST), a scientifically rigorous citizen science program, to explore measurable change in and links between understanding and action. We found that participation in rigorous citizen science was associated with significant increases in participant knowledge and skills; a greater connection to place and, secondarily, to community; and an increasing awareness of the relative impact of anthropogenic activities on local ecosystems specifically through increasing scientific understanding of the ecosystem and factors affecting it. Our results suggest that a place-based, data-rich experience linked explicitly to local, regional, and global issues can lead to measurable change in individual and collective action, expressed in our case study principally through participation in citizen science and community action and communication of program results to personal acquaintances and elected officials. We propose the following tenets of conservation literacy based on emergent themes and the connections between them explicit in our data: place-based learning creates personal meaning making; individual experience nested within collective (i.e., program-wide) experience facilitates an understanding of the ecosystem process and function at local and regional scales; and science-based meaning making creates informed concern (i.e., the ability to discern both natural and anthropogenic forcing), which allows individuals to develop a personalized prioritization schema and engage in conservation action.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Place‐based and data‐rich citizen science as a precursor for conservation action

Haywood

Parrish

Dolliver

2016

Conservation Biology

Self Cite

158

163

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“…Lawrence (2009) notes that citizen science data often arise out, and are given personal meaning through, long-term interaction with a specific place. In addition, Haywood (2014Haywood ( , 2016 has drawn attention to the importance of sense of place, i.e. the meaning of and attachment to specific sites, as both a possible motivation for and result of participation in citizen science.…”

Section: Citizen Scientists' Motivationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sharing biodiversity data: citizen scientists’ concerns and motivations

et al. 2017

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Citizen scientists play a pivotal role in providing necessary biodiversity data. To ensure the continued involvement of a strong volunteer base, insight into the concerns and motivations of voluntary recorders is crucial. This paper presents the findings of a largescale survey (N = 2193) among Dutch volunteer biodiversity recorders of diverse taxa, and focuses on three questions: what are the characteristics of these citizen scientists regarding their activities and socio-demographic background, what are their motivations for recording biodiversity, and what are their views on data sharing and ownership? Our findings show that a connection to, interest in and concern for nature are the most important motivations for biodiversity recorders. Volunteer recorders have high expectations regarding the impact of their data, both for their own learning as well as for science and management. Almost half the volunteers consider their data to be public goods, but this does not mean they support unconditional data sharing. Instead, the acceptability of data sharing with third parties seems strongly linked to the goals of the user. We discuss the implications of our findings for practitioners, such as the role of biology curricula and the importance of learning opportunities to redress the lack of younger volunteers. We argue that conceptualising volunteer recorders as data custodians rather than owners helps to Communicated by Peter Bridgewater.This article belongs to the Topical Collection: Biodiversity appreciation and engagement.Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article

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“…Laypeople who participate in research projects can gain a better understanding of scientific concepts, methods, traditions, and values (Cronje et al, 2011;Riesch and Potter, 2014). Citizen science initiatives can also enhance people's appreciation for nature and for their local environment (Haywood, 2014). Enhancing the public's understanding of science can also increase the public's support for research and helps promote effective policy decisions based on sound, relevant science (Resnik, 2009(Resnik, , 2011.…”

Section: Benefits Of Citizen Sciencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many of these potential problems can be addressed by explicitly stating the roles and responsibilities of citizens at the outset of the research project and in subsequent public communications. It may also be helpful for those initiating citizen science projects to learn more about the potential benefits and challenges of citizen science and to determine what forms of public participation are most appropriate (Elliott, 2011;Haywood, 2014).…”

Section: Exploitationmentioning

confidence: 99%