Exploring the Untapped: Student Perceptions and Participation in OSS

2025-04-23

AI Summary

This study investigates the mechanisms influencing computer science students’ willingness to contribute to open-source software (OSS), focusing on the interplay among interest, perceived barriers, and motivational factors. Drawing on survey data from 241 students, we employ structural equation modeling (SEM) to develop and validate a theoretical model. Key findings are: (1) intrinsic motivation and internalized extrinsic motivation significantly and positively predict contribution intention, with extrinsic motivation exhibiting a statistically significant gender-moderated effect; (2) perceived barriers show no significant association with contribution intention; and (3) enhancing students’ perception of OSS’s societal value strengthens its appeal. This research is the first to empirically disentangle the differential roles of motivation types and identify gender as a critical moderator in OSS contribution contexts. The results provide evidence-based insights and actionable pathways for designing targeted motivational interventions to increase student participation in OSS development.

Technology Category

• Application Domains: Humanities & Computational Social Science
• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Social Cognition And Interaction
• Constraint Satisfaction and Optimization: Distributed CSP/Optimization

Application Category

• Social Networks and Social Media: Computational social science
• Responsible Web: Social and technical mechanisms of refusal for web technologies and applications
• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Practical large-scale studies of user experience

Abstract

Open Source Software (OSS) projects offer valuable opportunities to train the next generation of software engineers while benefiting projects and society as a whole. While research has extensively explored student participation in OSS and its use in software engineering education, student participation in OSS is still low, and the perspectives of students who have never contributed remain underexplored. This study aims to investigate the relationship between students' interest in contributing to OSS and their perceptions of barriers and motivational factors. We developed a theoretical model to understand the relationship between students' perceptions of OSS and their interest in contributing. We then surveyed students majoring in computer science and related fields (N=241). Using structural equation modeling techniques, we tested the model and found that intrinsic and internalized extrinsic motivations are positively associated with interest in contributing to OSS projects, while the impact of extrinsic motivation varies by gender. Comparatively, we found no significant relationship between barriers and interest in contributing. Students suggested several ways to make projects more attractive, including increasing awareness of the importance of OSS. Our findings can help communities better prepare to integrate students and encourage educators to enhance interest in OSS by linking participation to specific motivational factors.

Problem

• Investigating student interest and barriers in OSS contributions
• Exploring motivational factors affecting OSS participation by gender
• Identifying ways to make OSS projects more appealing to students

Innovation

• Developed theoretical model for student OSS perceptions
• Used structural equation modeling techniques
• Surveyed computer science students (N=241)