Volunteer survey report

At the beginning of March 2022, we ran a survey to help us to understand more about the volunteers who have contributed to the three Engaging Crowds citizen research projects on the Zooniverse platform and to evaluate the indexing tool that was developed as part of the project.

The survey link was circulated via a Zooniverse email newsletter to all registered volunteers who had taken part in these projects

A total of 379 people took the survey, with 318 completing it and 61 partially completing it.

The survey was divided into three sections, which asked volunteers to share reflections on their previous experience of citizen research, on the new Zooniverse indexing tool designed as part of Engaging Crowds, and on the wider impact of citizen research on their lives. This report includes responses to each quantitative question and a summary of qualitative responses. Respondents consented to their responses being analysed and the survey’s anonymised results published. 

Responses to this survey provide extensive evidence that online cultural heritage citizen research has an overwhelmingly positive self-reported impact on participants. Respondents cited a range of benefits to participation in online cultural heritage citizen research projects. These were a mixture of altruistic benefits, such as helping with research, giving back, and increasing access to records, and benefits to the individual, including providing opportunities for learning and development, filling in time productively, and gaining a sense of community.

Feedback on the Zooniverse indexing tool was broadly positive. Many respondents reported that they liked being able to choose the subject set they worked on.

The survey also suggests that online cultural heritage citizen research encourages participants to engage in follow-up activities and extend their engagement into their personal networks and wider society, for example, by talking to others, encouraging others to contribute, and engaging with related projects.