Preprint of: Who engages in Citizen Science projects on urban wildlife ecology? Findings on participant groups from cluster analyses

Citizen Science (CS) for nature sensing has grown in recent years in terms of popularity, project numbers, and content. Yet, little is known about the demographics of participants in ecological CS projects so far, and it is mostly unclear to what extent participants can be reasonably classified into specific participant groups. This is important to know as knowledge of such groups could be helpful in engaging and retaining as well as attracting CS participants. Therefore, the aim of the research presented here was to identify distinctive participants groups in two case studies, that is, two different ecological CS projects (N1 = 847, N2 = 223). In particular, we performed cluster analyses based on participants’ demographical data (i.e., age, educational background, and status of employment). The results revealed four participant clusters in each project. Each participant could be classified into one of these clusters: (1) All-Round Workers who were middle-aged employees with a medium education level and a full-time or part-time employment, (2) Academic Employees who were middle-aged employees with a high education level and a full-time or part-time employment, (3) Free-Timers with a medium education level and no employment, and (4) Academic Free-Timers with a high education level and no employment. Thus, participants of two different ecological CS projects could be classified into similar groups and our findings could offer important new opportunities in CS research. Further implications for diversifying participant groups and developing CS projects are discussed. notReviewed other