Publication Date
12-2017
Date of Final Oral Examination (Defense)
10-23-2017
Type of Culminating Activity
Thesis
Degree Title
Master of Science in Computer Science
Department
Computer Science
Supervisory Committee Chair
Jerry Alan Fails, Ph.D.
Supervisory Committee Member
Bogdan Dit, Ph.D.
Supervisory Committee Member
Maria Soledad Pera, Ph.D.
Abstract
Citizen science leverages a distributed user-base which participates in crowd-sourced scientific inquiry. Geotagger is a citizen science project that allows people to collaboratively investigate the natural world around them and share their findings. Citizens are rarely compensated for their work and individual contributors can feel isolated which leads to motivation problems. This thesis focuses on engaging citizen scientists and motivating their contributions via social interaction and engagement. As a part of this work, a number of social enhancements have been developed as extensions to the existing Geotagger project. These enhancements and their effect on social engagement were evaluated using in-field studies and design investigations with children. In the studies, children engaged effectively with each other using the social enhancements in Geotagger, and showed a preference for the application that included these social enhancements.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.18122/B2J41B
Recommended Citation
Finley, Bret Allen, "Cultivating Community Interactions in Citizen Science: Connecting People to Each Other and the Environment" (2017). Boise State University Theses and Dissertations. 1334.
https://doi.org/10.18122/B2J41B
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