Why citizen scientists volunteer: the influence of motivations, barriers, and perceived project relevancy on volunteer participation and retention from a novel experiment

We conducted an experimental study in a country in the Global South, an understudied region, for a citizen science project on water flow. Volunteers received a standard or an experimental training linking volunteers to decision-makers to influence perceptions of project relevancy and participation. We conducted pre- and post-training surveys and interviews to assess motivations, barriers, and perceptions of project relevancy and participation. We found motivations of learning and values enabled, while barriers such as time constrained, participation. Interviews showed continuing volunteers in the experimental training had stronger perceptions of project relevancy compared to the control, but survey results only showed changes in short-term perceptions and no changes to participation. Results suggest participation could be improved by addressing challenges such as time constraints or difficulty organizing others and focusing on motivations such as learning and values, but further research is needed on how involvement of decision makers in citizen science can influence participation.