Who wants to be a citizen scientist? Identifying the potential of citizen science and target segments in Switzerland

Abstract

Driven by the proliferation of digital media, citizen science -the involvement of non-scientists in scientific research -represents one of the most important recent developments in science communication as it brings science and the public closer together. So far, however, citizen science projects have mostly attracted people that are highly educated, mostly male and already have very positive attitudes towards science. Based on nationally representative survey data (N = 1051), our study explores the potential of citizen science in Switzerland. Using regression analysis, we show that attitudes towards science are significant antecedents of respondents' interest in participating in citizen science -but that gender and education are not. In addition, latent class analysis identifies five segments, representing over onethird of the Swiss population, who are interested in citizen science and could potentially be engaged: 'Free-Timers', 'Senior Sciencephiles', 'Young Sciencephiles', 'Intrigued Adolescents' and 'Fully Employed Parents'. Additional description suggests that previously overlooked segments are best addressed online via YouTube or offline in zoos or botanical gardens. Overall, our analysis suggests that citizen science's potential is far higher than previous projects were able to realize.

Science-related populism: Conceptualizing populist demands toward science

“…Even though they are pronounced in the political realm (Saurugger, 2010), “participatory discourses and techniques have been at the core of decision-making processes in a variety of sectors of society” (Bherer et al., 2016: 225), from social movements (Della Porta and Rucht, 2013) over companies and trade unions (Lee, 2014) to bureaucratic organizations (Nabatchi, 2010) and art (Bishop, 2012). A rise of participatory demands has also been described for science (Gregory and Miller, 1998), including the implementation of citizen participation in science-related decision-making (Einsiedel and Eastlick, 2000), public control of scientific work (Fähnrich et al., 2015; Ford, 2013), the crowd funding of science (Schäfer et al., 2018b), or citizen science (Füchslin et al., 2019).…”

Science communication scholars use more and more segmentation analyses: Can we take them to the next level?

“…Most of these studies do not aim to build a body of systematic knowledge but have more practical aims and, therefore, are not motivated by a common set of goals and are also less theoretically-driven. Some studies heavily focus on country comparisons (Pullman et al, 2018), some on temporal developments within the same country (Okamura, 2016), whereas others aim to improve science communication efforts in general (Schäfer et al, 2018), to recruit potential citizen scientists (Füchslin, Schäfer, & Metag, 2019), to increase people's scientific literacy (Kawamoto et al, 2011), or by offering efficient "post-hoc" segmentations (Runge, Brossard, & Xenos, 2018). Against this backdrop, Scheufele (2018) recently demanded that fields like science and environmental communication strive for more systematic segmentation efforts, taking into account differences between issues, issue cycles, cultural or national contexts, and methodological approaches.…”

Community‐based population monitoring for large baleen whales: the case study of Bryde's whale in Beibu Gulf of China

“…2016; Fuchslin et al . 2019). At the same time, citizen science emphasizes the concept of a win‐win, where it is not only the researchers who benefit but also those involved (Rowe & Frewer 2000; Goffredo et al .…”