Eesti keskkonnaalases harrastusteaduses osalejate motivatsioon
Laen...
Kuupäev
2026
Kättesaadavus
04.09.2026
Autorid
Ajakirja pealkiri
Ajakirja ISSN
Köite pealkiri
Kirjastaja
Eesti Maaülikool
Abstrakt
Harrastusteadus pakub väärtuslikku sisendit keskkonnaalastele teadusuuringutele, kuid algatuste koordinaatoritel on raskuseid osalejate motiveerimise ja pikaajalise kaasatuse tagamisega. Osalejate vähesus ja passiivsus takistavad otseselt algatuste tulemuste saavutamist. Eestis kogub harrastusteadus populaarsust, ent harrastusteadlaste motivatsiooni ja osaluskogemust on seni kitsalt uuritud. Käesoleva töö eesmärk on välja selgitada harrastusteadlaste tegevusajendid, motivatsiooni mõjutavad tegurid (eraelulised ja algatuste omadused), vahendada osalejate soovitusi ning teha valdkonna koordinaatoritele osaluskogemusel põhinevaid ettepanekuid motivatsiooni tõstmiseks. Eesmärkide saavutamiseks kasutati kvalitatiivset uurimismeetodit. Läbi viidi 12 poolstruktureeritud intervjuud keskkonnaalastes algatustes osalenutega ning transkriptsioone analüüsiti koodiraamatu põhjal ATLAS.ti tarkvaraga.
Intervjuudest tuli esile, et osalejad omasid sarnaseid väärtuspõhiseid, kuid väga erinevaid eneseteostuslikke tegevusajendeid. Vaatlusobjekti märkamine ja andmete edastamine rahuldas nii eneseteostuslikke kui ka üldist hüvangut toetavaid tegevusajendeid. Enesemääramisteooriale vastavalt tuli välja, et harrastusteadlase motivatsioon on sisemine. Selgus, et eraelulised asjaolud ja keskkonnatingimused on nii olulise toetava ja takistava mõjuga, kuid siiski ettearvamatud. Algatuse omadused motiveerivad juhul, kui need toimivad tõrgeteta ja rahuldavad osaleja psühholoogilisi põhivajadusi. Harrastusteadlaste soovitused kattusid suures osas teadlaste soovitustega, mis näitab, et osalejate tagasiside on usaldusväärne ja seda tuleks järjepidevalt kasutada algatuste edendamisel.
Tulemuste põhjal loodi nelja sekkumispunktiga motivatsiooniteekond ehk raamistik, mida koordinaatorid saavad algatuste planeerimisel kasutada pikaajalise osaluse tagamiseks ja motivatsiooni toetamiseks. Edaspidi soovitab autor seda tööriista reaalse algatuse raames katsetada ning osaluskogemuse põhjal järeldada, kas ja kuidas see praktikas toimib. See võimaldab teha sammu andmekeskselt inimesekeskse lähenemise suunas, et tagada Eesti harrastusteaduse jätkusuutlikkus ja mõlemapoolselt kasulik koostöö.
Citizen science provides valuable input for environmental research, but initiative coordinators face challenges in motivating participants and ensuring their long-term engagement. Low participation and passivity directly hinder the achievement of initiative outcomes. Citizen science is gaining popularity in Estonia, but the motivation of citizen scientists has been studied only to a limited extent. The aim of this study is to identify the motivations of citizen scientists, the factors influencing their motivation (personal factors and characteristics of the initiatives), to convey the participants’ recommendations, and to make suggestions to field coordinators, based on the participants’ experiences, for increasing motivation. A qualitative research method was used to achieve these objectives. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with environmental citizen science initiatives’ participants, and the transcripts were analyzed based on a coding manual using the ATLAS.ti software. The interviews revealed that the participants shared similar value-based motivations but had quite variable self-actualization-oriented motivations. Observing the subject of study and sharing data satisfied both self-actualization motives and those supporting the common good. In accordance with self-determination theory, it emerged that the motivation of the citizen scientist is intrinsic. It also became clear that personal circumstances and environmental conditions have a significant supportive and hindering impact, yet it remains unpredictable. The characteristics of the initiative are motivating when they function smoothly and satisfy the participant’s basic psychological needs. The recommendations of citizen scientists overlapped with those of professional researchers, indicating that participants’ feedback is reliable and it should be consistently used in initiative development. Based on the results, the “motivation pathway”—a framework consisting of four intervention points—was developed, which coordinators can use when planning initiatives to ensure long-term participation and support motivation. In future studies, the author recommends evaluating this tool within the context of a real-world initiative and determining based on the participation experience, whether and how it works in practice. This will enable a shift from data-driven to people-centered approach to ensure the sustainability of citizen science in Estonia and mutually beneficial cooperation.
Citizen science provides valuable input for environmental research, but initiative coordinators face challenges in motivating participants and ensuring their long-term engagement. Low participation and passivity directly hinder the achievement of initiative outcomes. Citizen science is gaining popularity in Estonia, but the motivation of citizen scientists has been studied only to a limited extent. The aim of this study is to identify the motivations of citizen scientists, the factors influencing their motivation (personal factors and characteristics of the initiatives), to convey the participants’ recommendations, and to make suggestions to field coordinators, based on the participants’ experiences, for increasing motivation. A qualitative research method was used to achieve these objectives. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with environmental citizen science initiatives’ participants, and the transcripts were analyzed based on a coding manual using the ATLAS.ti software. The interviews revealed that the participants shared similar value-based motivations but had quite variable self-actualization-oriented motivations. Observing the subject of study and sharing data satisfied both self-actualization motives and those supporting the common good. In accordance with self-determination theory, it emerged that the motivation of the citizen scientist is intrinsic. It also became clear that personal circumstances and environmental conditions have a significant supportive and hindering impact, yet it remains unpredictable. The characteristics of the initiative are motivating when they function smoothly and satisfy the participant’s basic psychological needs. The recommendations of citizen scientists overlapped with those of professional researchers, indicating that participants’ feedback is reliable and it should be consistently used in initiative development. Based on the results, the “motivation pathway”—a framework consisting of four intervention points—was developed, which coordinators can use when planning initiatives to ensure long-term participation and support motivation. In future studies, the author recommends evaluating this tool within the context of a real-world initiative and determining based on the participation experience, whether and how it works in practice. This will enable a shift from data-driven to people-centered approach to ensure the sustainability of citizen science in Estonia and mutually beneficial cooperation.
Kirjeldus
Bakalaureusetöö
Keskkonnakaitse õppekaval
Märksõnad
bakalaureusetööd, kodanikuteadus, elurikkus, huvi, enesemääramisteooria, osaluskogemus