Exploring the impact of game framing and task framing on user participation in citizen science projects
| Date | 18 March 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/AJIM-09-2018-0214 |
| Pages | 260-280 |
| Published date | 18 March 2019 |
| Author | Jian Tang,Nathan R. Prestopnik |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
Exploring the impact of game
framing and task framing on
user participation in citizen
science projects
Jian Tang
School of Information,
Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, China, and
Nathan R. Prestopnik
Department of Computer Science,
Ithaca College, Ithaca, New York, USA
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to examine how game framing and task framing influence
experienced meaningfulness (eudaimonia) and perceived enjoyment (hedonia), which, in turn, can account for
user participation behavior in citizen science projects.
Design/methodology/approach –The authors designed and i mplemented a citizen sc ience system,
Citizen Sort, and used a s urvey method to investig ate to what extent game fr aming and task framing
influence participa tion behavior. PLS–SEM wa s used to test research hy potheses with 76 Citiz en
Sort participants.
Findings –Analysis confirmed that game framing and task framing have a significant impact on perceived
enjoyment, but showed that only task framing has a direct effect on experienced meaningfulness. The effects
of experienced meaningfulness on participation were fully mediated by perceived enjoyment. Content
analysis of qualitative data revealed additional insights.
Research limitations/implications –This research is limited due to its sample size and considered as an
exploratory study, in which PLS–SEM was used to identify the impact of game framing and task framing as
well as support the theory development regarding the dual nature of citizen science games.
Practical implications –This research provided suggestions for scientists, designers and project initiators
that game framing and task framing should be effectively integrated to provide enjoyable and meaningful
experiences so as to promote user contribution.
Originality/value –This research is one of initial studies which explored the impactof dual nature of citizen
science games. The findings of this study provide the groundwork for guidelines and strategies to facilitate
user contribution in citizen science projects.
Keywords User participation, User experience, Citizen science, Task design, Citizen science games,
Stimulus–organism–response framework
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Citizen science is a crowdsourcing approach through which members of the public are recruited
to help with scientific data collection or analysis in distributed systems, often via an open call
for contribution over the web (Bonney et al., 2014). Participants contribute by working on tasks
such as observation, annotation and classification (Wiggins and Crowston, 2011), and citizen
science projects have become important outlets to promote science communication and
education (Bonney et al., 2016; Crall et al., 2013). Citizen science projects are inherently
interesting to many people, but can also be difficult, complex or potentially tedious for others.
The success of a citizen science project relies upon motivated crowds of participants, so
identifying factors that motivate and engage user participation i s an important question to be
addressed by citizen scientists, designers and project initiators. Many different motivations
have been explored, including altruism, activism and tangible rewards (Rotman et al., 2014;
Aslib Journal of Information
Management
Vol. 71 No. 2, 2019
pp. 260-280
© Emerald PublishingLimited
2050-3806
DOI 10.1108/AJIM-09-2018-0214
Received 24 September 2018
Revised 6 December 2018
26 January 2019
Accepted 22 March 2019
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/2050-3806.htm
260
AJIM
71,2
Curtis, 2015). More importantly, knowing how to design citizen science projects in a way that
effectively enhances the user experience is a more proactive approach when it comes to
addressing challenges such as low user retention, participation or contribution. Games and
play are therefore viewed as promising approaches for motivating citizen science participants
(Preece, 2016; Greenhill et al., 2016), and citizen science games have become a trendy form of
design in extant citizen projects, such as Foldit, Eyewire and Galaxy Zoo.
In citizen science games, scientific tasks and game features overlay and interact with
each other. Traditional game elements such as reward and punishment systems, goals and
achievements, chance and probability, obstacles and objectives, narrative and exploration,
etc., can imbue scientific activities with hedonic, enjoyment focused characteristics (Sicart,
2008; Curtis, 2015; Bowser et al., 2013). In some cases, this is done through gamification,
the application of individual game-like elements such as points or competition to
non-game contexts (Deterding, 2012; Deterding et al., 2011). In others, participants may
engage with science through “full-fledged”serious games, not unlike the commercial titles
available in online marketplaces such as Steam or Origin. Both gamification and
full-fledged game approaches are in accordance with the idea that game design can inspire
participation and motivation in purposeful systems (Deterding, 2015). In this research, we
use the term “game framing”to encapsulate the various game elements that lead many
citizen science participants to perceive a task-oriented scientific experience as “agame,”
and we are interested in exploring how serious games with scientific purposes could
possibly engage and motivate participation.
We further recognize that, just as play can influence perceptions of science, so scientific
tasks can influence perceptions of play through values such as altruism, inquiry and
scholarly insight (Curtis, 2015). Citizen science projects are often promoted as being
altruistic (helping scientists), educational (improving oneself) or a mix of the two (Wiggins
and Crowston, 2011). Absent game elements, citizen science projects most often attract
participants through an appeal to people’s desire to do something meaningful, either for
others or for themselves: the science that will be accomplished, the education that the work
will provide. We consider appeals of this kind to be task framing.
In recent years, many studies have investigated the impact of game elements, though in
the majority of this work, attention is focused mostly on hedonic experience like fun or
enjoyment (e.g. Pe-Than et al., 2014; Siemens et al., 2015) or on outcomes, for example,
quantity or quality of work accomplished (Suh and Wagner, 2017). Yet citizen science
games also have the potential to serve a eudaimonic role for players by creating lasting
meaning and insight. A few researchers have noted the importance of meaning in serious
games (e.g. Powell and Colin, 2008; Deterding, 2014; McGonigal, 2011). Game framing and
task framing result in experiences that are different in important ways from hedonically
oriented entertainment games and non-game (but often richly eudaimonic) scientific
activities. Such experiences have a complex, dual nature, part work and part play, and in
this research, we advocate for the study of both the hedonic and eudaimonic aspects of
citizen science games.
To better understand this duality, we designed and implemented a citizen science
system, Citizen Sort, featuring two “full-fledged”citizen science games: Forgotten Island
and Happy Match. We constructed research hypotheses to help explain the effects of
game framing and task framing on users’hedonic and eudaimonic experiences in
these two games, and we evaluated our hypotheses with a mixed-methods approach,
drawing on responses collected by survey from various players of the two games.
We developed a model to explore the impact of game framing and task framing on
enjoyment and meaningfulness, which, in turn, may influence player participation
behaviors. We further elaborated upon this model via a qualitative content analysis of
participant’s open-ended responses.
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The impact of
game framing
and task
framing
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