What determines the success and failure of environmental crowdfunding?

AbstractOnline crowdfunding can help address the perennial financial shortfalls in environmental conservation and management. Although many online crowdfunding campaigns fail to collect any funds due to not achieving their targets, little is known about what drives success. To address this knowledge gap, we applied a mixed-methods approach to data from 473 successful and failed campaigns hosted on the online crowdfunding platform Readyfor. We found that fundraising performance varied by topic, with campaigns on pet animal management outperforming those focussed on landscape management and sustainable use. We also found that marketing strategies associated with online findability and increased reach through social networks, increased fundraising success. However, the existence of other environmental campaigns running simultaneously, reduced the chance of success, which implies that the selecting popular topics does not always increase the likelihood of success due to increased competition. Wider applications of marketing could enhance the ability of environmental crowdfunding campaigns to raise funds.

Download Full-text

The value of social networks to individuals with a severe traumatic brain injury: a mixed methods approach

Disability and Rehabilitation ◽

10.1080/09638288.2021.2002442 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-10

Author(s):

Anette Lykke Hindhede ◽

Ingrid Poulsen

Keyword(s):

Traumatic Brain Injury ◽

Social Networks ◽

Mixed Methods ◽

Brain Injury ◽

Severe Traumatic Brain Injury ◽

Mixed Methods Approach

Download Full-text

Semantic Social Networks: A Mixed Methods Approach to Digital Ethnography

Field Methods ◽

10.1177/1525822x20908236 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 32 (3) ◽

pp. 274-290

Author(s):

Alberto Cottica ◽

Amelia Hassoun ◽

Marco Manca ◽

Jason Vallet ◽

Guy Melançon

Keyword(s):

Social Networks ◽

Mixed Methods ◽

Social Care ◽

Collective Intelligence ◽

Ethnographic Research ◽

Mixed Methods Approach ◽

Health And Social Care ◽

Ethnographic Data ◽

Online Conversation ◽

Network Form

We propose a mixed methods approach to digital ethnographic research. Treating online conversational environments as communities that ethnographers engage with as in traditional fieldwork, we represent those conversations and the codes made by researchers thereon in network form. We call these networks “semantic social networks” (SSNs), as they incorporate information on social interaction and their meaning as perceived by informants as a group and use methods from network science to visualize these ethnographic data. We present an application of this method to a large online conversation about community provision of health and social care and discuss its potential for mobilizing collective intelligence.

Download Full-text

Accessibility and Mobilisation of Social Capital in First-Generation Students’ Social Networks—A Mixed-Methods Approach

Journal of College Student Retention Research Theory & Practice ◽

10.1177/1521025120979643 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 152102512097964

Author(s):

Britta Wittner ◽

Luisa Barthauer ◽

Simone Kauffeld

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Social Networks ◽

Content Analysis ◽

Mixed Methods ◽

Academic Success ◽

Online Survey ◽

First Generation ◽

Social Contexts ◽

First Generation Students ◽

Mixed Methods Approach

Social support is a crucial factor for first-generation students’ (FGS) integration at university and their educational success. FGS are often assumed to lack social support and integration, but research shows mixed results. By means of a mixed-methods approach (combination of interviews and online survey), we aimed to shed light on the characteristics in FGS social networks that classify them as high-quality networks in order to obtain a deeper understanding of the structure and setup of the social contexts from which FGS receive support. Using these characteristics, we constructed types of socially supported students and related them to academic success. For that, we conducted N = 40 semi-structured interviews linked to Qualitative Social Network Analysis at an urban German University. Prior to the interviews, the interviewees filled out an online survey (1) consisting of demographic variables and psychological scales. During the interviews (2), we followed a problem-centred interview approach for the first part and then (3) asked about the FGS’s support networks during the beginning of their bachelor’s degrees. All the interviews were coded by applying content analysis. Network maps were analysed using qualitative structural analysis (QSA). Both maps and codes were used to build three types of support as received by the students. These types were in turn connected to the results of the support forms in content analysis and the psychometric scales to estimate how students perceive different structures in their networks as supportive. The results revealed three types: small and dense bijou networks, medium networks with emotionally close alters (close-knit networks), and large and diverse networks (have-it-all networks). The types show different results for university success and perceived support for their networks.

Download Full-text

Investigating social networks of older Singaporean learners: a mixed methods approach

Educational Gerontology ◽

10.1080/03601277.2020.1726595 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 46 (4) ◽

pp. 207-222

Author(s):

Pei-Chun Ko

Keyword(s):

Social Networks ◽

Mixed Methods ◽

Mixed Methods Approach

Download Full-text

A Mixed Methods Study of the Social Support Networks of Female Sex Workers and Their Primary Noncommercial Male Partners in Tijuana, Mexico

Journal of Mixed Methods Research ◽

10.1177/1558689816688974 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 12 (4) ◽

pp. 437-457 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Karla D. Wagner ◽

Jennifer L. Syvertsen ◽

Silvia R. Verdugo ◽

Jose Luis Molina ◽

Steffanie A. Strathdee

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Social Networks ◽

Mixed Methods ◽

Sex Workers ◽

Female Sex Workers ◽

Support Networks ◽

Mixed Methods Study ◽

Social Support Networks ◽

Mixed Methods Approach ◽

The Social

Female sex workers (FSWs) are at risk for multiple health harms, including HIV. This article describes a mixed methods study of the social support networks of 19 FSWs and their primary male sex partners in Tijuana, Mexico. We collected quantitative and qualitative social network data, including quantitative network measures, qualitative narratives, and network visualizations. Methodologically, we illustrate how a convergent mixed methods approach to studying personal social support networks of FSWs can yield a more holistic understanding of network composition and role. From a health-related perspective, we show how migration/deportation and stigma shape social networks and might be leveraged to support HIV prevention interventions. We believe others can benefit from a mixed methods approach to studying social networks.

Download Full-text