Motivations and barriers to participation in citizen science: the case study of the Hong Kong Jellyfish Project

Citizen science invites the public to engage with scientists to contribute to scientific research. Though there are a number of citizen science projects ongoing in Hong Kong, the motivations, barriers and demographics of participants are unknown. Researchers and the principal investigator on the HKJP conducted a survey with 87 respondents to better understand these factors in relation to their participating citizen scientists.

The HKJP invites participants to help record the presence, abundance and distribution of jellyfish in Hong Kong waters. Citizens can share observations through the HKJP website, in the iNaturalist app, via social media, or even email. The HKJP has a bilingual website, and recruits observers and promotes sharing of jellyfish observations through traditional media, social media and in-person interactions. 

The survey results indicated that the majority of respondents were full-time employed, had received higher education and were motivated because they felt the project had meaningful goals and wanted to learn more about jellyfish. A majority also felt that the bilingual website made the project more appealing. The survey showed that the main barriers to participation were a perceived lack of knowledge, not knowing that “no jellyfish seen” was a valid observation, and a lack of time. 

The authors found that their respondents were of similar demographics to those found in other citizen science projects. However, the HKJP attracted many full-time employed respondents, unlike Western studies of citizen science which find stronger participation from retirees. The authors also report that although the overall motivating factors for participation appeared acultural, these factors were nonetheless stable across participants; this differs from Western contexts, which shows a shift in motivations as participants age.