document: Volunteer computing : a model of the factors determining contribution to community-based scientific research Volunteer computing is a powerful way to harness distributed resources to perform large-scale tasks , similarly to other types of community-based initiatives . Volunteer computing is based on two pillars : the first is computational - allocating and managing large computing tasks ; the second is participative - making large numbers of individuals volunteer their computer resources to a project . While the computational aspects of volunteer computing received much research attention , the participative aspect remains largely unexplored . In this study we aim to address this gap : by drawing on social psychology and online communities research , we develop and test a three-dimensional model of the factors determining volunteer computing users ' contribution . We investigate one of the largest volunteer computing projects - SETI@home - by linking survey data about contributors ' motivations to their activity logs . Our findings highlight the differences between volunteer computing and other forms of community-based projects , and reveal the intricate relationship between individual motivations , social affiliation , tenure in the project , and resource contribution . Implications for research and practice are discussed .
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