Citizen Science User Research

[BenjaminDaviesBRIDGE]

I am part of a team conducting research on how and why people take part in citizen science programs. The goal of this is to generate a solid understanding of the motivations and needs of those people so that I and my colleges can design a better user interface for an upcoming application. 

If you are interested in helping we would love to hear from you on your experiences with BOINC. We are looking for high-level information and advice. For example we’d really like to know:
· * * * *How do you attract new users to your program?
· * * * *When things, in your opinion, make for a delightful experience for your volunteers?
· * * * *What things, in your opinion, turn away prospective volunteers?
· * * * *How do you keep users interested in participation over time?
· * * * *Do your users interact with each other? In what ways? Is the interaction important to their participation?

[NoisyAstronomer]

Hi, Benjamin! We don't use BOINC here, though I've used it personally on some projects like SETI@home.

We've been undertaking some research of citizen science motivations with CosmoQuest, and recently presented some results at the Astronomical Society of the Pacific conference: http://cosmoquest.org/blog/2013/10/who-how-and-why/

That's just a start, but we could chat further on this issue for your research if you'd prefer. Send an email to info@cosmoquest.org! (I get that forwarded to my inbox, as do several other members of the team.)

- Nicole