Public perception of citizen science in Spain: Sociodemographic analysis

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 o...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Sánchez Fernández, Flor, Casani Fernández Navarrete, Fernando, Olmos Albacete, Ricardo
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Institución:Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Repositorio:Biblos-e Archivo. Repositorio Institucional de la UAM
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.uam.es:10486/719678
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10486/719678
https://dx.doi.org/10.3989/redc.2024.3.1551
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Attitudes
Citizen science
Knowledge
Motivation
Open science
Ciencia ciudadana
Ciencia abierta
Participación ciudadana
Conocimiento
Actitudes
Motivación
Economía
Descripción
Sumario: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.