How Personal Value Orientations Influence Behaviors in Digital Citizen Science

Abstract

While much research has examined motivations for contributing to citizen science projects, few studies have considered the role of personal values in directing citizen scientists' interactions and contribution patterns. We investigated whether personal values systematically influence the behaviors of individuals who use the Zooniverse platform to select and contribute to citizen science projects. In this paper, we present the results of a research study where we launched a large-scale survey (N = 2,605) to capture personal values using Schwartz's Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ-21). We also extracted system log data from participant interactions on Zooniverse. Our results align with previous research suggesting intrinsic type motivators and values tend to drive specific modes of interaction, e.g., exploring projects in different disciplines. We also see that interaction in social spaces, e.g., discussion boards, is driven by values with a personal focus (e.g., self-enhancement) and social focus. Given these results, we provide several suggestions for managing these and similar projects.