Volunteering in the Citizen Science Project “Insects of Saxony”—The Larger the Island of Knowledge, the Longer the Bank of Questions
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PSY: PLAN Institute for Architectural and Environmental Psychology, 10245 Berlin, Germany
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Museum für Naturkunde, Programme Society and Nature, 10115 Berlin, Germany
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Senckenberg Natural History Collections Dresden, Museum of Zoology, Lepitoptera Section, 01109 Dresden, Germany
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Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, University of Vienna, 1010 Vienna, Austria
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Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editors: Cristina Castracani and Alessandro Campanaro
Insects 2021, 12(3), 262; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects12030262
Received: 28 February 2021
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Revised: 13 March 2021
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Accepted: 15 March 2021
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Published: 20 March 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Citizen Science Approach for Expanding the Research on Insects)
Simple Summary
Motivations and the organisational frame for volunteering in citizen science projects remain understudied. This study applied a new measurement inventory called Motivational and ORganisational Functions of voluntary ENgagement in Citizen Science (MORFEN-CS), by which established findings of psychology on volunteering in social situations were transferred to volunteering in biodiversity and environmental sciences. It was applied in the citizen science project Insects of Saxony. The results are presented in this article and implications for measuring motivations and for project and volunteer management in citizen science projects are discussed.
In a cross-sectional survey study (N = 116), volunteers of the project Insects of Saxony were asked about their current and past volunteering activities, their motivations, their rating of organisational offers, their knowledge, their satisfaction with the project and their personal contribution, and their intended future involvement. Participants in the study were mostly male, well-educated, over 50 years old, and had been volunteering in biodiversity projects for a long time. They were driven by both pro-social (altruistic) and self-serving (egoistic) motivations, but rated the pro-social functions as more important for their engagement. Communication and feedback were rated the most important organisational offers. Participants also reported a knowledge increase during project participation. While the volunteers were satisfied with the overall project, they were significantly less content with their own contribution. Results from the survey were followed up with a group discussion (N = 60). The anecdotes revealed the participants’ regret of not having more time for their hobby, and they emphasised the challenges that arise from the different scientific approaches of the various disciplines. Most participants indicated that they want to continue their volunteering. Implications for measuring motivations in citizen science projects and for volunteer management are discussed.
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Keywords:
social psychology; citizen science; participant demographics; motivations; organisational framework; volunteer management
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MDPI and ACS Style
Moczek, N.; Nuss, M.; Köhler, J.K. Volunteering in the Citizen Science Project “Insects of Saxony”—The Larger the Island of Knowledge, the Longer the Bank of Questions. Insects 2021, 12, 262. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects12030262
AMA Style
Moczek N, Nuss M, Köhler JK. Volunteering in the Citizen Science Project “Insects of Saxony”—The Larger the Island of Knowledge, the Longer the Bank of Questions. Insects. 2021; 12(3):262. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects12030262
Chicago/Turabian StyleMoczek, Nicola, Matthias Nuss, and Jana K. Köhler. 2021. "Volunteering in the Citizen Science Project “Insects of Saxony”—The Larger the Island of Knowledge, the Longer the Bank of Questions" Insects 12, no. 3: 262. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects12030262
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