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Characterizing Novelty As a Motivator in Online Citizen Science

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Characterizing Novelty As a Motivator in Online Citizen Science Syracuse University SURFACE Dissertations - ALL SURFACE May 2019 Characterizing Novelty as a Motivator in Online Citizen Science Corey Jackson Syracuse University Follow this and additional works at: https://surface.syr.edu/etd Part of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Jackson, Corey, "Characterizing Novelty as a Motivator in Online Citizen Science" (2019). Dissertations - ALL. 1046. https://surface.syr.edu/etd/1046 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the SURFACE at SURFACE. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations - ALL by an authorized administrator of SURFACE. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ABSTRACT Citizen science projects rely on the voluntary contribution of nonscientists to take part in scientific research projects. Projects taking place exclusively over the Internet face significant challenges, chief among them is the attracting and keeping the critical mass of volunteers needed to conduct the work outlined by the science team. The extent to which platforms can design experiences that positively influence volunteers’ motivation can help address the contribution challenges. Consequently, project organizers need to develop strategies to attract new participants and keep existing ones. One strategy to encourage participation is implementing features, which re-enforce motives known to change people’s attitudes towards contributing positively. The literature in psychology noted that novelty is an attribute of objects and environments that occasion curiosity in humans leading to exploratory behaviors, e.g., prolonged engagement with the object or environment. This dissertation described the design, implementation, and evaluation of an experiment conducted in three online citizen science projects. Volunteers received novelty cues when they classified data objects that no other volunteer had previously seen. The hypothesis was that exposure to novelty cues while classifying data positively influences motivational attitudes leading to increased engagement in the classification task and increased retention. The experiments resulted in mixed results. In some projects novelty cues were universally salient, and in other projects, novelty cues had no significant impact on volunteers’ contribution behaviors. The results, while mixed, are promising since differences in the observed behaviors arise because of individual personality differences and the unique attributes found in each project setting. This research contributes to empirically grounded studies on motivation in citizen science with analyses that produce new insights and questions into the functioning of novelty and its impact on volunteers’ behaviors. Keywords: citizen science, experiment, novelty, motivation CHARACTERIZING NOVELTY AS A MOTIVATOR IN ONLINE CITIZEN SCIENCE by Corey Jackson B.S., University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2010 M.S., University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2012 Dissertation Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Information Science & Technology. Syracuse University May 2019 Copyright © Corey Jackson 2019 All Rights Reserved ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am deeply grateful to my advisor, Kevin Crowston, for guiding me through my Ph.D., and for a lifetime worth of constructive, supportive, and honest advice. Kevin taught me how to identify and work on research problems and be an independent researcher. Kevin afforded me incredible opportunities to grow as a researcher and person, and under his tutelage, I became a better researcher and person. I am also grateful to Carsten Østerlund who, in many ways acted as a secondary advisor during my Ph.D. His guidance, advice, and support were profoundly influential in shaping the researcher and person that I am today. I thank Steve Sawyer, Bryan Seeman, Dan Cosley, and Jeff Saltz, who have served on my committee offering advice and invaluable feedback on this document as well as during my time as a doctoral student at the iSchool. I also owe a thank you all the iSchool/SU staff, special thanks to Jennifer Barclay, Susan Neimer, and Lois Elmore, Bridget M Crary, Maureen O’Connor Kicak, and Jennifer Pulver Jose Tavarez for all their support and logistics throughout my studies. This thesis focuses on volunteers who contribute to online citizen science projects and would not have been possible without the help of the Zooniverse staff including Stuart Lynn, Laura Trouille, and Sarah Allen who helped implement the experiments. Many thanks are owed to the millions of Zooniverse volunteers who, without their contributions to such a noble cause, this thesis would not have been possible. Specifically, I thank the volunteers who contributed to Higgs Hunters, Asteroid Zoo, and Gravity Spy. I had the privilege of working alongside members of the SALT lab at the iSchool, notably Yang Wang and Yun Huang. Yang provided me with guidance on several paper submissions where I learned perseverance in the publication process. Yang and Yun welcomed me to their home during many holidays, and for them I am grateful. During the summer of 2015, I had the great privilege of interning with Laura Anderson and Cheryl Kieliszewski at IBM’s Almaden Research Center in Almaden, CA. I thank them for their guidance, support, and advice during my summer at IBM and the years afterward. iv I am also grateful for the financial support of Christine Larsen who funded summer research activities during my first three years at the iSchool which afforded me the freedom to explore new ideas and work towards completing Ph.D. milestones. I have had the privilege of working along many colleagues who I have learned from and who have tremendously influenced my intellectually development and growth including Gabriel Mugar, Katie DeVries Hassman, Matt Willis, Sarika Sharma, Ehsan Sabaghian, Dane Dell, David Pierre, Ariel Ash-Shakoor, Nathan Prestopnik, Delicia Green, David James, Jerry Robinson, and Mahboobeh Harandi, Yaxing Yao, Nata Barbosa, Huichuan Xia. Also, a thank you to the Flannigan Gymnasium noon ball crew who always provided a needed mental break from the stressors of Ph.D. life and the occasional libation. Completing a Ph.D. is challenging, I am lucky to have been blessed with a fantastic cohort and family in Ehsan Sabaghian and Sarika Sharma. As an underrepresented student finding community at an academic institution is essential. Gina Lee-Glauser, Patricia Stith, and the Black Graduate Student Association provided spaces for community building for myself and other graduate students at Syracuse University. These events are where I met some of my closest friends during my Ph.D., for this community I am thankful. In 2017, I relocated to my hometown of Chicago, IL to spend time with family and friends before joining the ranks of academia. While this might have extended my time to completing my Ph.D. and much to the chagrin of my advisor I was happy I made the decision since it allowed me time to reconnect with friends. I cannot imagine what I would have done without the support of friends like Bradley Clarke, Ijeoma Omelogu, Juren Ekwejunor-Etchie, Miguel Sierra, Holly Ekwejunor-Etchie, Chika Umeadi, Caitlin Williams, Jenna Ayares, Christa Harlin, Hatizda Zaganjor and Monica Williams. A special thank you is extended to Audrey Shinn who was a constant support system during the final and most difficult stages of my Ph.D. I want to thank my family for unwavering support and encouragement including Yvette Griffin, Hector Griffin, Yolanda Foreman, Javin Forman, and Johnny Waggoner, Jahleel Griffin, Jalen Griffin, and Asia Griffin. Lastly, my mother, Marsha Harris Henderson, to whom I dedicate this thesis. It was only through your constant love and support that this kid from the south side of Chicago was able to achieve his goals and for that, I am forever indebted to you. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……....…………………………………………………………... iv LIST OF TABLES…….................…………………………………………………………… ix LIST OF FIGURES……....……...…………………………………………………………… xi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 1 1.1 BACKGROUND AND MOTIVATION .................................................................................... 1 1.2 CITIZEN SCIENCE ............................................................................................................. 7 1.2.1 Participation in Citizen Science ................................................................................................. 11 1.2.2 Challenges and opportunities for citizen science .................................................................. 12 1.2.3 Motivation in online citizen science ......................................................................................... 13 1.3 MOTIVATION IN CROWDSOURCING AND PEER PRODUCTION PLATFORMS ........................ 16 1.3.1 Crowdsourcing ................................................................................................................................ 17 1.3.2 Peer Production ............................................................................................................................... 22 1.4 ENCOURAGING CONTRIBUTIONS THROUGH DESIGNING FOR NOVELTY ........................... 24 1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS .................................................................................................. 25 1.6 CHAPTER SUMMARIES ..................................................................................................
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