A Survey of Citizen Science Gaming Experiences

Abstract

Citizen science games (CSGs) are a valuable means for motivating citizen science participation. However, many CSGs still suffer from the recruitment and retention issues of traditional citizen science projects, despite much prior literature on what motivates CSG players. In this study, we take a Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) perspective to explore in what ways CSGs are still failing to provide motivating play experiences for players. Using Qualitative Content Analysis, we conducted and analyzed an online survey of 185 players from 9 citizen science games. This survey contributes insights to the current state of CSG experiences and next steps for developers to address these issues. We found that major concerns included scientific communication, instructional design, user interface and controls, task quality, and software issues.

Keywords

• citizen science games
• survey
• player experience