Year: 2024
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: This study analyzes the public’s view of citizen science based on survey respondents’ expressed knowledge, attitudes, and motivations. The questionnaire was answered by 1,002 residents of 48 Spanish cities. The study population was 50% female and spanned various age groups, occupations, and levels of education. The results indicate that although the population has a quite favorable opinion of citizen science, people feel underinformed about it. Very few respondents consider it to be negative and many expect it to have a positive impact over the coming decade. While both men and women exhibit intrinsic motivations to participate in citizen science, women specifically exhibit social motives for contributing. The data reveal differences in respondents’ attitude to citizen science depending on gender, age, level of education, and occupation. The data suggest that incorporating a balanced and representative sample of the public into scientific endeavor will require greater institutional intervention in coming years.
Authors: Flor Sánchez, Fernando Casani, Ricardo Olmos
Institution: Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Language: English
Subfield: Geography, Planning and Development
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
Awards: G1110700765, G3690828678
OpenAlex ID: W4403463854