Drivers of Participation in Digital Citizen Science: Case Studies on Järviwiki and Safecast

Abstract

Digital citizen science platforms are prominent examples of modern volunteerism that provide people with opportunities to observe natural phenomena and to engage in scientific processes. In this study, we explore the values and motivations underlying sustained participation in digital citizen science projects through the lenses of two social psychology theories (Schwartz's Human Values Theory and Self-Determination Theory). We present in-depth analyses of interviews with 15 long-term volunteers in two digital citizen science initiatives (Järviwiki and Safecast) that have been collecting environmental data for a decade in Finland and Japan. Our results advance the understanding of the values underpinning motivations. Our analyses show that openness-to-change values, such as self-direction, are important for initial participation, yet a diverse range of values, except for power, play a role in sustaining participation. Our study also shows that the values related to sustained participation are linked with extrinsic motivations, suggesting that when extrinsic motivators are self-directed, people will not only perform tasks willingly and enthusiastically but also in a sustained manner. Conceptualizing the behavioral continuum that drives volunteering actions provides practical insights that can assist the design, development, and evaluation of digital citizen science platforms.

State of the art preliminary literature review: Sustainability and waste reporting capabilities in management systems

“…Given the lack of work in the waste specific data quantifying reporting management systems capabilities, authors suggest producing more systems related research and wide-scale scientific databases mapping studies to specify what exact areas have already started to receive academic contributions and where should be the largest research gaps. Also, big picture fleet-level studies [52][53][54][55] could be beneficial, as shown in this preliminary literature review. In this context, the journal articles are highly appreciated by other academics (a lot of references for a large amount of found studies).…”

“…• private waste processing companies • sustainability calculations consultation companies • municipalities Also, to speed up the software system and solution development efforts, authors would like to suggest trust [50] and knowledge sharing based industry-university collaboration models. For example models like hackathons [44][45][46], capstone courses [47], front-end innovation process formalization methods [51], plus digital citizen science [55] and community-based monitoring programs [48] as solution options to boost the design of environmentally more sustainable solutions [59].…”

Digital age business model innovation for sustainability in University Industry Collaboration Model

“…Considering the findings, research can e.g., offer new know-how for digital design process tools and support mass customization considerations; companies might have with the newest business models [50,51]. And considering the newest technologies, also innovation seeding options like collaborative hackathons [34,36,43], capstone courses [39] and digital citizen science solutions [55] should be given a tough, as these methods have also shown productivity [40] sustainability context. The research can also push newest technologies like Artificial Intelligence [52,53] and industry 4.0 technologies [22] to forms that help companies produce new circularity and sustainability enhancing products and services.…”

Using Citizen Science to Complement IoT Data Collection: A Survey of Motivational and Engagement Factors in Technology-Centric Citizen Science Projects

“…It is significant when citizens feel the connection in a wider sense with family, community or governing body. This factor has shown to increase citizens participation in combination with gaming [131,132] which often combines rewards. However monetary rewards alone have been found to have a negative impact on participation, often refereed as 'crowd-out effect' [87].…”