PS 2-18 - Building trust in citizen science: understanding motivations for participating and exploring methods for improving data quality

Monday, August 15, 2022

5:00 PM – 6:30 PM EDT

Located in: ESA Exhibit Hall

Presenting Author(s)

Sebastian Moreno

Phd Candidate
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Amherst, Massachusetts, United States

Coauthor(s)

SL

Susannah B. B. Lerman

USDA Forest Service
Amherst, MA, United States
PW

Paige Warren

Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts, United States

Background/Question/Methods

Yard-based citizen science has grown in popularity as a means to understand urban biodiversity patterns and to overcome challenges of access to private land. Citizen scientists can strengthen their connections with nearby nature, increase environmental literacy, and cultivate a sense of place. However, citizen science programs experience a decrease in participant effort over time. Low participant effort might result in a decrease in data quality and a poor representation of what is truly impacting urban biodiversity. Skepticism in data efficacy can create distrust between participants and researchers, further alienating individuals from the scientific process. We explored different strategies to improve participation and identify what data collection methods would provide an accurate representation of urban biodiversity. In 2020, we administered a survey to citizen scientists to gauge their effort, attitudes, and motivations for participating in a citizen science program on the population dynamics of backyard birds. Information from this study informed the foundation for another citizen science program where we designed an experiment to test the accuracy of citizen scientist observations of which bird species visited bird feeders in 30 yards across western Massachusetts and compared with a trained scientist’s observations and a motion-sensing camera aimed at the feeder.

Results/Conclusions

Our survey had a response rate of 53% (n= 212) with questions revolving around the participants’ likelihood of collecting and submitting data, and who influenced their decisions to collect data. 73% of participants became involved in citizen science because they wanted to contribute to bird conservation. We found a disconnect in communication between scientists and participants when it came to the importance of collecting data. These data may provide insight into a potential disconnect in communication between scientists and participants. In the experimental study, we used three forms of observation data: participant, researcher, and motion-sensing camera, where we were able to compare the data collected by each method as well as assess the effort required to maximize data quality. This will provide scientists with improved knowledge for designing and implementing citizen science programs with the goal to sustain participation engagement while collecting data that will help in the conversation of backyard birds.