Why watch bees? Motivations of citizen science volunteers in the Great Pollinator Project

Domroese, Margret C.; Johnson, Elizabeth A.

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2016.08.020

Cited by 178 publications

(238 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Public interest and concern for pollinator conservation has grown dramatically in the last decade given documented declines in managed and wild bee fauna (Domroese and Johnson 2017). Collection of long-term monitoring data is a major contribution that citizen scientists can make toward effective conservation programs (Dickinson et al 2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying Barriers to Citizen Scientist Retention When Measuring Pollination Services

Kleinke

Prajzner

Gordon

et al. 2018

CSTP

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Pollination Investigators is a citizen science program designed to quantify the pollination service provided within home gardens. The goal of our initial study year was to develop and evaluate an experimental protocol using a survey to gather participant feedback. At three workshops held in the spring of 2014 we distributed sampling protocols along with eight (two of each species) sweet pepper, cucumber, tomato, and sunflower seedlings to 64 volunteers. Volunteers established the seedlings in their home garden and compared fruit weight and seed set among open pollinated flowers with flowers bagged to exclude insect visitors. At the end of the season only 14.1% of volunteers submitted any pollination services data. Using a follow-up survey, we identified the steps within our protocol that prevented volunteers from continuing with the project, and prescribe protocol revisions to improve volunteer retention when measuring garden pollination services.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying Barriers to Citizen Scientist Retention When Measuring Pollination Services

Kleinke

Prajzner

Gordon

et al. 2018

CSTP

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“…Cox et al [2017, in press] found that understanding motives, which include learning, were associated with more contributions. Domroese and Johnson [2017] also found learning about bees to be the most cited reason for participating in the Great Pollinator Project.…”

Section: Learning About Sciencementioning

confidence: 97%

“…For example, Zooniverse volunteers answered that they are more motivated by their contribution to science than by the possibility to learn about science or to help scientists [Brossard, Lewenstein and Bonney, 2005;Reed et al, 2013]. Contributing to science was listed as a primary contributor for participation in CosmoQuest [Gugliucci, Gay and Bracey, 2014], Foldit [Curtis, 2015], and in the Dutch Great Influenza Survey [Land-Zandstra et al, 2016b] and the second most cited reason for the Great Pollinator Project [Domroese and Johnson, 2017]. More interestingly, Land-Zandstra et al [2016b] found that citizen scientists who had participated in the project for a longer time were more motivated by contributing to science.…”

Section: Contributing To Sciencementioning

confidence: 99%

Appealing to different motivations in a message to recruit citizen scientists: results of a field experiment

Lee¹,

Crowston²,

Harandi³

et al. 2018

JCOM

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This study examines the relative efficacy of citizen science recruitment messages appealing to four motivations that were derived from previous research on motives for participation in citizen-science projects. We report on an experiment (N=36,513) that compared the response to email messages designed to appeal to these four motives for participation. We found that the messages appealing to the possibility of contributing to science and learning about science attracted more attention than did one about helping scientists but that one about helping scientists generated more initial contributions. Overall, the message about contributing to science resulted in the largest volume of contributions and joining a community, the lowest. The results should be informative to those managing citizen-science projects. Abstract Citizen science Keywordshttps://doi

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“…Citizen science also can lead to participant advocacy in promoting environmental action (Cornwell and Campbell 2012) that may foster greater accountability and industrial compliance with regulatory agencies (Overdevest and Mayer 2008). With regard to outcomes for conservation of natural resources, findings have been equivocal: some studies reported minimal or no changes in conservation behaviors (Jordan et al 2011) while others suggested that citizen scientists may be more likely than other individuals to undertake conservation actions (Domroese and Johnson 2017;Lewandowski and Oberhauser 2017;Cooper et al 2015;Toomey and Domroese 2013;Tulloch et al 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Whether some of these variables influence participation in citizen science projects is not yet clear. For some, citizen science might be viewed as a form of outdoor recreation (Domroese and Johnson 2017). Individuals' recreation preferences might therefore influence project engagement and associated outcomes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contrasting the Views and Actions of Data Collectors and Data Consumers in a Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Project: Implications for Project Design and Management

Cooper

Larson

Holland

et al. 2017

CSTP

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Data collection or generation is the primary way that the majority of volunteers advance the scientific goals of citizen science projects, but other activities such as data consumption also may influence learning, civic, and conservation outcomes. Project designers and managers balance goals for multiple outcomes and thus need to consider the influence of all project-related activities on outcomes. In a study of the kayak-based Citizen's Water Quality Testing (CWQT) Program in New York City, we compared the characteristics, perceptions, and behaviors of those collecting and using CWQT data (data collectors) and those solely using the data (data consumers). Data collectors (n = 40) and consumers (n = 24) were similar in gender and political orientation, but collectors were younger, devoted more time to the project, and experienced far more face-to-face interactions related to the project. Data collectors and consumers had similar motivations for participation, except that collectors were more likely motivated by recognition for their efforts. Lack of free time was the largest barrier to participation for both types of participants, and a significantly greater barrier for consumers. Data collectors and consumers trusted volunteer-collected data more than government-collected data. Collectors and consumers both recognized multiple scientific, environmental, and social benefits associated with the project, and both were equally likely to use volunteer-collected data for a variety of purposes, such as informing decisions about conservation and recreation. Importantly, both groups were equally likely to undertake a suite of conservation behaviors. We synthesize and expand current conceptual frameworks of citizen science participation and outcomes, highlighting the need for further study to understand mechanisms and linkages between the varied activities of citizen science projects and broader social and ecological impacts. To achieve conservation goals, project managers should broaden the definition of participant to include those carrying out activities other than data collection (such as data use) and explicitly manage for potential benefits derived by consumers of citizen science.Keywords: water quality monitoring; community-based research; Pareto principle; NYC kayakers; Enterococci bacteria; conservation; citizen science Introduction Citizen science is newly recognized as a distinct discipline with a rapidly emerging theoretical base Bonney et al. 2014;Jordan et al. 2015;Cooper 2016).New studies provide insights on the structure, processes, function, and outcomes of citizen science. The primary products of citizen science activities are typically scientific publications or datasets, but additional outcomes are To better understand these outcomes and how they might be derived, it is important to explore the many different ways that citizen scientists engage with research projects. Typically they take on the role of volunteer data collectors, but often they engage by using the data as well. In most projects, contri...

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Why watch bees? Motivations of citizen science volunteers in the Great Pollinator Project

Cited by 178 publications

References 28 publications

Identifying Barriers to Citizen Scientist Retention When Measuring Pollination Services

Identifying Barriers to Citizen Scientist Retention When Measuring Pollination Services

Appealing to different motivations in a message to recruit citizen scientists: results of a field experiment

Contrasting the Views and Actions of Data Collectors and Data Consumers in a Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Project: Implications for Project Design and Management

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