Browsing by Author "Mutyebere, Rodgers"

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    Assessing scale reliability in citizen science motivational research: lessons learned from two case studies in Uganda
    (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024-12) Ashepet, Mercy Gloria; Vranken, Liesbet; Michellier, Caroline; Dewitte, Olivier; Mutyebere, Rodgers; Kabaseke, Clovis; Twongyirwe, Ronald; Kanyiginya, Violet; Kagoro-Rugunda, Grace; Huyse, Tine; Jacobs, Liesbet
    Citizen science (CS) is gaining global recognition for its potential to democratize and boost scientific research. As such, understanding why people contribute their time, energy, and skills to CS and why they (dis)continue their involvement is crucial. While several CS studies draw from existing theoretical frameworks in the psychology and volunteering fields to understand motivations, adapting these frameworks to CS research is still lagging and applications in the Global South remain limited. Here we investigated the reliability of two commonly applied psychometric tests, the Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI) and the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), to understand participant motivations and behaviour, in two CS networks in southwest Uganda, one addressing snail-borne diseases and another focused on natural hazards. Data was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire administered to the CS participants and a control group that consisted of candidate citizen scientists, under group and individual interview settings. Cronbach’s alpha, as an a priori measure of reliability, indicated moderate to low reliability for the VFI and TPB factors per CS network per interview setting. With evidence of highly skewed distributions, non-unidimensional data, correlated errors and lack of tau-equivalence, alpha’s underlying assumptions were often violated. More robust measures, McDonald’s omega and Greatest lower bound, generally showed higher reliability but confirmed overall patterns with VFI factors systematically scoring higher, and some TPB factors—perceived behavioural control, intention, self-identity, and moral obligation—scoring lower. Metadata analysis revealed that most problematic items often had weak item–total correlations. We propose that alpha should not be reported blindly without paying heed to the nature of the test, the assumptions, and the items comprising it. Additionally, we recommend caution when adopting existing theoretical frameworks to CS research and propose the development and validation of context-specific psychometric tests tailored to the unique CS landscape, especially for the Global South. Publicly Available Content Database
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    Does the farmer’s social information network matter? Explaining adoption behavior for disaster risk 2 reduction measures using the theory of planned behavior
    (Theory of Planned Behavior, 2022) Mutyebere, Rodgers; Twongyirwe, Ronald; Sekajugo, John; Kabaseke, Clovis; Kagoro-Rugunda, Grace; Kervyn, Matthieu; Vranken, Liesbet
    Smallholder farmers’ vulnerability to climate-related disasters in Sub-Saharan Africa is increasing, partly due to land-use changes and limited information about the adoption of farm-based Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) measures. Classical agricultural extension workers are increasingly less trusted because they tend to transfer information not targeted to DRR, and rarely reach remote areas vulnerable to disasters. By extending the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), this study assesses whether Social Information Networks (SIN) can shape farmers’ perspectives regarding the adoption of DRR measures. Cross-sectional data were collected from 602 randomly selected households from Rwenzori and Ankole in Western Uganda, the sub-regions that are prone to landslides and floods. Results from the structural equation modeling demonstrate TPB as a strong framework to explain adoption behavior for DRR measures. Results show Perceived Behavioral Control (PBC) as a stronger driver of intentions than subjective norm and attitudes. Intentions to apply DRR measures are significantly associated with actual adoption. Farmers’ adoption behavior to control landslides and floods is directly correlated since the same location might simultaneously be at risk of such interacting disasters. Furthermore, SIN significantly predicts adoption intentions directly, and indirectly through PBC, subjective norm, and attitude. PBC and professional networks being the main drivers of adoption intentions suggests that the role of extension services cannot be substituted by informal social networks but the two should be complementary. Thus, the study shows the need to build the technical capacity of extension staff and informal networks in DRR measures to train and transfer information to farmers.