Scientists@Home: what drives the quantity and quality of online citizen science participation?

Online citizen science offers a low-cost way to strengthen the infrastructure for scientific research and engage members of the public in science. As the sustainability of online citizen science projects depends on volunteers who contribute their skills, time, and energy, the objective of this study...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2014-04, Vol.9 (4), p.e90375-e90375
Main Authors: Nov, Oded, Arazy, Ofer, Anderson, David
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Biology and Life Sciences
Computer and Information Sciences
Earth Sciences
Encyclopedias
Humans
Information systems
Internet
Least-Squares Analysis
Medicine and Health Sciences
Models, Theoretical
Motivation
Open source software
Participation
Physical Sciences
Practice
Quality
Quality control
Reproducibility of Results
Research and Analysis Methods
Science
Science Policy
Scientific research
Scientists
Social networks
Social Sciences
Studies
Sustainability
Volunteers
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Summary:Online citizen science offers a low-cost way to strengthen the infrastructure for scientific research and engage members of the public in science. As the sustainability of online citizen science projects depends on volunteers who contribute their skills, time, and energy, the objective of this study is to investigate effects of motivational factors on the quantity and quality of citizen scientists' contribution. Building on the social movement participation model, findings from a longitudinal empirical study in three different citizen science projects reveal that quantity of contribution is determined by collective motives, norm-oriented motives, reputation, and intrinsic motives. Contribution quality, on the other hand, is positively affected only by collective motives and reputation. We discuss implications for research on the motivation for participation in technology-mediated social participation and for the practice of citizen science.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0090375