| dc.description.abstract | Current environmental challenges form huge threats for conservation biology, natural resource management and environmental protection. Citizen science can be an effective tool for dealing with these threats. Citizen science is the participation of the public in the generation of new scientific knowledge. Through increasing scientific knowledge and better engaging the citizens in public action, citizen science can deal with these threats. By engaging more citizens, more data can be generated, and more options of solutions can be found. Motives to participate and not participate play a central role when wanting to attract more non-participants. By addressing the motives of the non-participants, through communication methods, as invitations, they will be faster inclined to participate. Moreover, recommendations are sought to enhance the participation. To uncover these motives and recommendations an explorative research is executed to propose an answer on the following questions: ‘What motives determine the intention to participate or not participate in citizen science? And what recommendations enhance the intention to participate in citizen science?’.
An explorative inductive qualitative research was carried out. 24 semi-structured interviews were conducted with citizens who were not involved with citizen science. Through NVivo the results were coded and analysed. Three relevant motives to participate and not participate emerged from the results which enhances the intention to participate. The first motive was sense of urgency, where more attention is to be given to the specific risks involved and a clearer understanding of the projects’ goal. Emphasis on the sense of urgency is required for citizens to feel more addressed. The second motive that citizens are more likely to participate when the information meeting is nearby the citizens residential area or instead of a meeting an informative video can be used. Thirdly, people are more inclined to participate when the activity of the project is organised close to the citizens residential area. If these motives to participate and not participate are addressed this can enhance the intention to participate.
Based on these results and other gathered data recommendations were formulated, which enhances the intention to participate. These are organised in six components. The first two recommendations are on how to make the project more accessible and to provide feedback of results to the respondents when the project is completed. The following four recommendations are composed of four main themes: improving of the content of invitation, increasing the fun factor, increasing triggers and improving the visibility and promotion. | |
