Examining the Effect of Interaction Content and Interaction Style on Volunteers’ Research Competence in Citizen Science Projects

Authors

Luyue Zhang, Central University of Finance and EconomicsFollow
Jian Tang, Central University of Finance and EconomicsFollow
Xinxue Zhou, Central University of Finance and EconomicsFollow
Tuotuo Qi, Central University of Finance and EconomicsFollow

Paper Type

RIP

Paper Number

442

Abstract

Citizen science involves ordinary volunteers and uses their contributions to support scientific investigations. Besides its value for science, citizen science also has educational potential for volunteers. Interactions among involved parties (i.e., scientists and volunteers) are key to generating educational values for volunteers. We investigate how interaction characteristics, which are interaction content and interaction style, influence volunteers’ co-creation experiences and then af ect their research competence. We conduct a survey to collect data from volunteers in a continued citizen science project named the “China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study.” Volunteers are recruited and trained to perform field data collection. The findings help guide the design and implementation of citizen science projects to generate more profound implications for improving public understanding of science.

Recommended Citation

Zhang, Luyue; Tang, Jian; Zhou, Xinxue; and Qi, Tuotuo, "Examining the Effect of Interaction Content and Interaction Style on Volunteers’ Research Competence in Citizen Science Projects" (2021). PACIS 2021 Proceedings. 21.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/pacis2021/21