Citizen science on a smartphone: Participants' motivations and learning

Public Understanding of Science
Anne M Land-ZandstraJos M van den Broek

Abstract

Citizen science provides researchers means to gather or analyse large datasets. At the same time, citizen science projects offer an opportunity for non-scientists to be part of and learn from the scientific process. In the Dutch iSPEX project, a large number of citizens turned their smartphones into actual measurement devices to measure aerosols. This study examined participants' motivation and perceived learning impacts of this unique project. Most respondents joined iSPEX because they wanted to contribute to the scientific goals of the project or because they were interested in the project topics (health and environmental impact of aerosols). In terms of learning impact, respondents reported a gain in knowledge about citizen science and the topics of the project. However, many respondents had an incomplete understanding of the science behind the project, possibly caused by the complexity of the measurements.

References

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Aug 6, 2010·Nature·Seth CooperFoldit Players
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Jan 7, 2015·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Henry Sauermann, Chiara Franzoni

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Citations

Dec 14, 2016·British Journal of Cancer·Jonathan LawsonPeter Smittenaar
Dec 3, 2016·Public Understanding of Science·Kaja ScheligaBenedikt Fecher
Oct 28, 2017·Public Understanding of Science·Mike Michael
Aug 1, 2018·Sensors·Maximilian UeberhamUwe Schlink
Mar 28, 2020·Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences·Frederick R AdlerÇağan H Şekercioğlu
Apr 20, 2021·PloS One·Olivier BurggraaffFrans Snik
Oct 17, 2021··Saminda Sundeepa BalasuriyaMaria Hoogstrate
Apr 20, 2018··Maria Victoria Palacin-Silva, Maria Victoria Palacin-Silva
Nov 1, 2018··Jorge GoncalvesMatthias Budde

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Software Mentioned

EXPOSURE
iSPEX
Zooniverse
Galaxy Zoo
Stardust
iBats

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