View source for Science communication

{{Short description|Public communication of science-related topics to non-experts}}

[[File:Science-Comunication-Overview-FabioCrameri.png|thumb|Schematic overview of the field and the actors of science communication according to Carsten Könneker|alt=|320x320px]]

'''Science communication''' encompasses a wide range of activities that connect [[Science|science]] and [[Organization:Society|society]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Communicating science: a global perspective |date=2020 |others=Toss Gascoigne, Bernard Schiele, Joan Leach, Michelle Riedlinger, Bruce V. Lewenstein, Luisa Massarani, Peter Broks, Australian National University Press |isbn=978-1-76046-366-3 |location=Canberra, ACT, Australia |oclc=1184001543}}</ref> Common goals of science communication include informing non-experts about scientific findings, raising the public awareness of and interest in science, influencing people's attitudes and behaviors, informing [[Social:Public policy|public policy]], and engaging with diverse communities to address societal problems.<ref name=":16">{{Cite book |last=National Academies of Sciences |first=Engineering, and Medicine. Committee on the Science of Science Communication: a Research Agenda |title=Communicating science effectively: a research agenda |date=2017 |isbn=978-0-309-45103-1 |location=Washington, DC |oclc=975003235}}</ref> The term "science communication" generally refers to settings in which audiences are not experts on the scientific topic being discussed (outreach), though some authors categorize expert-to-expert communication ("inreach" such as publication in [[Scientific journal|scientific journal]]s) as a type of science communication.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Illingworth |first1=Sam |last2=Allen |first2=Grant |date=2020 |orig-date=2016 |chapter=Introduction |title=Effective science communication: a practical guide to surviving as a scientist |edition=2nd |location=Bristol, UK; Philadelphia |publisher=[[Company:IOP Publishing|IOP Publishing]] |pages=1–5 |isbn=9780750325189 |oclc=1172776633 |doi=10.1088/978-0-7503-2520-2ch1 |doi-access=free |quote=This chapter provides a clearer distinction between the two aspects of science communication that are discussed in this book: that which is aimed at engaging scientists (inward-facing) and that which is aimed at engaging non-scientists (outward-facing).}}</ref> Examples of outreach include science journalism<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Anderson |first1=Josh |last2=Dudo |first2=Anthony |date=February 2023 |title=A View From the Trenches: Interviews With Journalists About Reporting Science News |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/10755470221149156 |journal=Science Communication |language=en |volume=45 |issue=1 |pages=39–64 |doi=10.1177/10755470221149156 |s2cid=256159505 |issn=1075-5470}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-10-23 |title=How Science News does science journalism {{!}} Science News |url=https://www.sciencenews.org/about-science-news/journalism-standards-practices |access-date=2023-04-09 |language=en-US}}</ref> and [[Social:Health communication|health communication]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.nap.edu/catalog/25881 |title=Encouraging Adoption of Protective Behaviors to Mitigate the Spread of COVID-19: Strategies for Behavior Change |date=2020-07-23 |publisher=National Academies Press |isbn=978-0-309-68101-8 |location=Washington, D.C. |doi=10.17226/25881|s2cid=241252994 }}</ref> Since science has political, moral, and legal implications,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Scheufele |first=Dietram A. |date=2014-09-16 |title=Science communication as political communication |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=111 |issue=supplement_4 |pages=13585–13592 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1317516111 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=4183176 |pmid=25225389 |doi-access=free }}</ref> science communication can help bridge gaps between different stakeholders in public policy, industry, and civil society.<ref name="JensenGerber2020">{{Cite journal |last1=Jensen |first1=Eric A. |last2=Gerber |first2=Alexander |date=2020 |title=Evidence-Based Science Communication |journal=Frontiers in Communication |language=English |volume=4 |doi=10.3389/fcomm.2019.00078 |issn=2297-900X |doi-access=free}} [[File:CC-BY_icon.svg|50x50px]] Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.</ref>

{{Science|expanded=Society}}
'''Science communicators'''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA--> are a broad group of people: scientific experts, science journalists, science artists, [[Medicine:Health professional|medical professionals]], nature center educators, science advisors for policymakers, and everyone else who communicates with the public about science.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Build Trust in Science for a Better Future |url=https://www.associationofsciencecommunicators.org/sign-our-open-letter-build-trust-in-science/ |access-date=2023-04-09 |website=Association of Science Communicators |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=About |url=https://www.associationofsciencecommunicators.org/about/ |access-date=2023-04-09 |website=Association of Science Communicators |language=en-US}}</ref> They often use [[Philosophy:Entertainment|entertainment]] and [[Philosophy:Persuasion|persuasion]] techniques including humour, [[Social:Storytelling|storytelling]], and metaphors to connect with their audience's values and interests.<ref name=POIOlson/><ref name=Krulwich/><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Dudo |first1=Anthony |last2=Besley |first2=John C. |title=What it means to 'know your audience' when communicating about science |url=http://theconversation.com/what-it-means-to-know-your-audience-when-communicating-about-science-111147 |access-date=2023-04-09 |website=The Conversation |date=16 April 2019 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dahlstrom |first=Michael F. |date=2014-09-16 |title=Using narratives and storytelling to communicate science with nonexpert audiences |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=111 |issue=supplement_4 |pages=13614–13620 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1320645111 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=4183170 |pmid=25225368 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Science communication also exists as an interdisciplinary field of [[Social:Social science|social science]] research<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Guenther |first1=Lars |last2=Joubert |first2=Marina |date=2017-05-03 |title=Science communication as a field of research: identifying trends, challenges and gaps by analysing research papers |url=https://jcom.sissa.it/archive/16/02/JCOM_1602_2017_A02 |journal=Journal of Science Communication |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=A02 |doi=10.22323/2.16020202 |issn=1824-2049|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":16" /> on topics such as misinformation,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ecker |first1=Ullrich K. H. |last2=Lewandowsky |first2=Stephan |last3=Cook |first3=John |last4=Schmid |first4=Philipp |last5=Fazio |first5=Lisa K. |last6=Brashier |first6=Nadia |last7=Kendeou |first7=Panayiota |last8=Vraga |first8=Emily K. |last9=Amazeen |first9=Michelle A. |date=2022-01-12 |title=The psychological drivers of misinformation belief and its resistance to correction |journal=Nature Reviews Psychology |language=en |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=13–29 |doi=10.1038/s44159-021-00006-y |s2cid=245916820 |issn=2731-0574|doi-access=free |hdl=1983/889ddb0f-0d44-44f4-a54f-57c260ae4917 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Scheufele |first1=Dietram A. |last2=Krause |first2=Nicole M. |date=2019-04-16 |title=Science audiences, misinformation, and fake news |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=116 |issue=16 |pages=7662–7669 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1805871115 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=6475373 |pmid=30642953 |bibcode=2019PNAS..116.7662S |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Krause |first1=Nicole M. |last2=Freiling |first2=Isabelle |last3=Scheufele |first3=Dietram A. |date=March 2022 |title=The "Infodemic" Infodemic: Toward a More Nuanced Understanding of Truth-Claims and the Need for (Not) Combatting Misinformation |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00027162221086263 |journal=The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science |language=en |volume=700 |issue=1 |pages=112–123 |doi=10.1177/00027162221086263 |s2cid=248562334 |issn=0002-7162}}</ref> public opinion of emerging technologies,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Scheufele |first=Dietram |title=Engaging Science: Thoughts, Deeds, Analysis and Action |publisher=Wellcome Trust |year=2006 |editor-last=Turney |editor-first=Jon |location=London |pages=20–25 |chapter=Messages and Heuristics: How Audiences Form Attitudes About Emerging Technologies}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Anderson |first1=Ashley A. |last2=Brossard |first2=Dominique |last3=Scheufele |first3=Dietram A. |last4=Xenos |first4=Michael A. |last5=Ladwig |first5=Peter |date=April 2014 |title=The "Nasty Effect:" Online Incivility and Risk Perceptions of Emerging Technologies: Crude comments and concern |journal=Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication |language=en |volume=19 |issue=3 |pages=373–387 |doi=10.1111/jcc4.12009|s2cid=17198115 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Cacciatore |first1=Michael A. |last2=Anderson |first2=Ashley A. |last3=Choi |first3=Doo-Hun |last4=Brossard |first4=Dominique |last5=Scheufele |first5=Dietram A. |last6=Liang |first6=Xuan |last7=Ladwig |first7=Peter J. |last8=Xenos |first8=Michael |last9=Dudo |first9=Anthony |date=September 2012 |title=Coverage of emerging technologies: A comparison between print and online media |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1461444812439061 |journal=New Media & Society |language=en |volume=14 |issue=6 |pages=1039–1059 |doi=10.1177/1461444812439061 |s2cid=17445635 |issn=1461-4448}}</ref> and the politicization and polarization of science.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Drummond |first1=Caitlin |last2=Fischhoff |first2=Baruch |date=2017-09-05 |title=Individuals with greater science literacy and education have more polarized beliefs on controversial science topics |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=114 |issue=36 |pages=9587–9592 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1704882114 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=5594657 |pmid=28827344 |bibcode=2017PNAS..114.9587D |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Motta |first=Matthew |date=October 2018 |title=The Polarizing Effect of the March for Science on Attitudes toward Scientists |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1049096518000938/type/journal_article |journal=PS: Political Science & Politics |language=en |volume=51 |issue=4 |pages=782–788 |doi=10.1017/S1049096518000938 |s2cid=158825529 |issn=1049-0965}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Chinn |first1=Sedona |last2=Hart |first2=P. Sol |last3=Soroka |first3=Stuart |date=February 2020 |title=Politicization and Polarization in Climate Change News Content, 1985-2017 |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1075547019900290 |journal=Science Communication |language=en |volume=42 |issue=1 |pages=112–129 |doi=10.1177/1075547019900290 |s2cid=212781410 |issn=1075-5470}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hart |first1=P. Sol |last2=Chinn |first2=Sedona |last3=Soroka |first3=Stuart |date=August 2020 |title=Politicization and Polarization in COVID-19 News Coverage |journal=Science Communication |language=en |volume=42 |issue=5 |pages=679–697 |doi=10.1177/1075547020950735 |issn=1075-5470 |pmc=7447862}}</ref> For decades, science communication research has had only limited influence on science communication practice, and vice-versa,<ref name="JensenGerber2020" /><ref>The first detailed empirical analysis of the international research field was commissioned by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research: {{cite book |last=Gerber |first=Alexander |url=https://sciencecomm.science/the-research-field/ |title=Science Communication Research: an Empirical Field Analysis |collaboration= |date=2020 |publisher=Edition innovare |isbn=978-3-947540-02-0 |location=Germany |access-date=11 January 2021}}</ref> but both communities are increasingly attempting to bridge research and practice.<ref>{{Cite web |title=about |url=https://www.scicommbites.org/about |access-date=2023-04-09 |website=SciCommBites |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Ropeik |first=David |date=14 March 2019 |title=Why Climate Change Pundits Aren't Convincing Anyone |work=Undark |url=https://undark.org/2019/03/14/climate-change-essays-are-unconvincing-2/ |access-date=9 April 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine |date=9 April 2023 |title=Standing Committee on Advancing Science Communication |url=https://www.nationalacademies.org/our-work/standing-committee-on-advancing-science-communication-research-and-practice |access-date=9 April 2023 |website=National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine}}</ref>

Historically, academic scientists were discouraged from spending time on public outreach, but that has begun to change. Research funders have raised their expectations for researchers to have broader impacts beyond publication in academic journals.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Broader Impacts |url=https://beta.nsf.gov/funding/learn/broader-impacts |access-date=2023-04-09 |website=NSF - National Science Foundation |language=en}}</ref> An increasing number of scientists, especially younger scholars, are expressing interest in engaging the public through social media and in-person events, though they still perceive significant institutional barriers to doing so.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rose |first1=Kathleen M. |last2=Markowitz |first2=Ezra M. |last3=Brossard |first3=Dominique |date=2020-01-21 |title=Scientists' incentives and attitudes toward public communication |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=117 |issue=3 |pages=1274–1276 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1916740117 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=6985784 |pmid=31911470 |bibcode=2020PNAS..117.1274R |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Calice |first1=Mikhaila N. |last2=Beets |first2=Becca |last3=Bao |first3=Luye |last4=Scheufele |first4=Dietram A. |last5=Freiling |first5=Isabelle |last6=Brossard |first6=Dominique |last7=Feinstein |first7=Noah Weeth |last8=Heisler |first8=Laura |last9=Tangen |first9=Travis |last10=Handelsman |first10=Jo |date=2022-06-15 |editor-last=Baert |editor-first=Stijn |title=Public engagement: Faculty lived experiences and perspectives underscore barriers and a changing culture in academia |journal=PLOS ONE|language=en |volume=17 |issue=6 |pages=e0269949 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0269949 |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=9200360 |pmid=35704652 |bibcode=2022PLoSO..1769949C |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Science communication is closely related to the fields of informal science education, [[Citizen science|citizen science]], and public engagement with science, and there is no general agreement on whether or how to distinguish them.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ellenbogen |first=Kirsten |date=January 2013 |title=The Convergence of Informal Science Education and Science Communication |journal=Curator: The Museum Journal |language=en |volume=56 |issue=1 |pages=11–14 |doi=10.1111/cura.12002|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Communicating the Future: Engaging the Public in Basic Science |url=https://scipep.org/event/communicating-the-future-engaging-the-public-in-basic-science/ |access-date=2023-04-09 |website=SciPEP |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-030-58278-4 |title=The Science of Citizen Science |journal=<!---->|date=2021 |publisher=Springer International Publishing |isbn=978-3-030-58277-7 |editor-last=Vohland |editor-first=Katrin |location=Cham |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-58278-4 |s2cid=234242494 |editor-last2=Land-Zandstra |editor-first2=Anne |editor-last3=Ceccaroni |editor-first3=Luigi |editor-last4=Lemmens |editor-first4=Rob |editor-last5=Perelló |editor-first5=Josep |editor-last6=Ponti |editor-first6=Marisa |editor-last7=Samson |editor-first7=Roeland |editor-last8=Wagenknecht |editor-first8=Katherin}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Martin |first=Victoria Y. |date=April 2017 |title=Citizen Science as a Means for Increasing Public Engagement in Science: Presumption or Possibility? |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1075547017696165 |journal=Science Communication |language=en |volume=39 |issue=2 |pages=142–168 |doi=10.1177/1075547017696165 |s2cid=149690668 |issn=1075-5470}}</ref> Like other aspects of society, science communication is influenced by systemic inequalities that impact both inreach<ref name="Bjork 2022">{{Cite journal |last=Bjork |first=Collin |date=2022 |title=Book Review: H. Glasman-Deal, Science Research Writing for Native and Non-Native Speakers of English |url=https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2022.100877 |journal=Journal of Second Language Writing |volume=56 |doi=10.1016/j.jslw.2022.100877 |s2cid=247394793}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Olivia M. |last2=Davis |first2=Kayla L. |last3=Pizza |first3=Riley B. |last4=Waterman |first4=Robin |last5=Dobson |first5=Kara C. |last6=Foster |first6=Brianna |last7=Jarvey |first7=Julie C. |last8=Jones |first8=Leonard N. |last9=Leuenberger |first9=Wendy |last10=Nourn |first10=Nan |last11=Conway |first11=Emily E. |last12=Fiser |first12=Cynthia M. |last13=Hansen |first13=Zoe A. |last14=Hristova |first14=Ani |last15=Mack |first15=Caitlin |date=2023-03-13 |title=Peer review perpetuates barriers for historically excluded groups |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-023-01999-w |journal=Nature Ecology & Evolution |volume=7 |issue=4 |pages=512–523 |language=en |doi=10.1038/s41559-023-01999-w |pmid=36914773 |bibcode=2023NatEE...7..512S |s2cid=257506860 |issn=2397-334X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Freelon |first1=Deen |last2=Pruden |first2=Meredith L |last3=Eddy |first3=Kirsten A |last4=Kuo |first4=Rachel |date=2023-02-17 |title=Inequities of race, place, and gender among the communication citation elite, 2000–2019 |url=https://academic.oup.com/joc/advance-article/doi/10.1093/joc/jqad002/7044280 |journal=Journal of Communication |volume=73 |issue=4 |language=en |pages=356–367 |doi=10.1093/joc/jqad002 |issn=0021-9916}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Zheng |first1=Xiang |last2=Yuan |first2=Haimiao |last3=Ni |first3=Chaoqun |date=2022-07-13 |editor-last=Groll |editor-first=Helga |editor2-last=Rodgers |editor2-first=Peter |title=How parenthood contributes to gender gaps in academia |journal=eLife |volume=11 |pages=e78909 |doi=10.7554/eLife.78909 |issn=2050-084X |pmc=9299837 |pmid=35822694 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ni |first1=Chaoqun |last2=Smith |first2=Elise |last3=Yuan |first3=Haimiao |last4=Larivière |first4=Vincent |last5=Sugimoto |first5=Cassidy R. |date=2021-09-03 |title=The gendered nature of authorship |journal=Science Advances |language=en |volume=7 |issue=36 |pages=eabe4639 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.abe4639 |issn=2375-2548 |pmc=8442765 |pmid=34516891|bibcode=2021SciA....7.4639N }}</ref> and outreach.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lewenstein |first=Bruce V. |date=2022 |title=Is Citizen Science a Remedy for Inequality? |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/00027162221092697 |journal=The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science |volume=700 |pages=183–194 |doi=10.1177/00027162221092697 |s2cid=248562327}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Amarasekara |first1=Inoka |last2=Grant |first2=Will J |date=January 2019 |title=Exploring the YouTube science communication gender gap: A sentiment analysis |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0963662518786654 |journal=Public Understanding of Science |language=en |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=68–84 |doi=10.1177/0963662518786654 |pmid=29974815 |s2cid=49692053 |issn=0963-6625}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hu |first=Jane C. |date=2017-02-14 |title=Gender Differences in Pitching: Results from the TON Pitching Habits Survey |url=https://www.theopennotebook.com/2017/02/14/gender-differences-in-pitching-results-from-the-ton-pitching-habits-survey/ |access-date=2023-04-09 |website=The Open Notebook |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Santos-Muñiz |first=Mariela |date=2019-12-10 |title=On the Shortage of Spanish-Language Science Journalism in U.S. Media |url=https://www.theopennotebook.com/2019/12/10/on-the-shortage-of-spanish-language-science-journalism-in-u-s-media/ |access-date=2023-04-09 |website=The Open Notebook |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-07-01 |title=Anti-racist science communication starts with recognising its globally diverse historical footprint |url=https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2020/07/01/anti-racist-science-communication-starts-with-recognising-its-globally-diverse-historical-footprint/ |access-date=2023-04-09 |website=Impact of Social Sciences}}</ref>

==Motivations==
Writing in 1987, Geoffery Thomas and John Durant advocated various reasons to increase public understanding of science, or scientific literacy.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Thomas |first1=Geoffrey |last2=Durant |first2=John |date=Summer 1987 |title=Why should we promote the public understanding of science? |journal=Scientific Literacy Papers: A Journal of Research in Science, Education and the Public |volume=1 |pages=1–14 |url=http://mit.sustech.edu/NR/rdonlyres/Science--Technology--and-Society/STS-014Spring-2006/2737FE74-34D6-4A16-A7DD-95F0FBE60BA0/0/durant_promote.pdf |access-date=18 September 2019 |archive-date=18 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190918161027/http://mit.sustech.edu/NR/rdonlyres/Science--Technology--and-Society/STS-014Spring-2006/2737FE74-34D6-4A16-A7DD-95F0FBE60BA0/0/durant_promote.pdf }}</ref><ref name="GregMiller" /> More trained engineers and scientists could allow a nation to be more competitive economically.<ref name="GregMiller">{{cite book |last1=Gregory |first1=Jane |url=https://archive.org/details/scienceinpublicc0000greg |title=Science in Public: Communication, Culture, and Credibility |last2=Miller |first2=Steve |date=1998 |publisher=Plenum Trade |isbn=0306458608 |location=New York |oclc=38478554 |url-access=registration}}</ref>{{rp|11–17}} Science can also benefit individuals. Science can simply have aesthetic appeal (e.g., popular science or science fiction). Living in an increasingly technological society, background scientific knowledge can help to negotiate it. The [[Social:Positive psychology|science of happiness]] is an example of a field whose research can have direct and obvious implications for individuals.<ref name="GregMiller" /> Governments and societies might also benefit from more scientific literacy, since an informed electorate promotes a more democratic society.<ref name="GregMiller" /> Moreover, science can inform moral decision making (e.g., answering questions about whether animals can feel pain, how [[Earth:Climate change|human activity influences climate]], or even a [[Philosophy:Science of morality|science of morality]]).<ref name="GregMiller" />

In 1990, Steven Hilgartner, a scholar in [[Engineering:Science and technology studies|science and technology studies]], criticized some academic research in public understanding of science.<ref name="Hilgartner">{{cite journal |last1=Hilgartner |first1=Stephen |year=1990 |title=The Dominant View of Popularization: Conceptual Problems, Political Uses |journal=Social Studies of Science |volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=519–539 |doi=10.1177/030631290020003006 |s2cid=144068473}}</ref> Hilgartner argued that what he called "the dominant view" of science popularization tends to imply a tight boundary around those who can articulate true, reliable knowledge.<ref name="Hilgartner" /> By defining a "deficient public" as recipients of knowledge, the scientists get to emphasize their own identity as experts, according to Hilgartner. Understood in this way, science communication may explicitly exist to connect scientists with the rest of society, but science communication may reinforce the boundary between the public and the experts (according to work by Brian Wynne in 1992<ref>Wynne, Brian (1992). "Misunderstood misunderstanding: Social identities and public uptake of science", ''Public Understanding of Science'', vol. 1 (3): 281–304. See also Irwin, Alan & Wynne, Brian (eds) (1996) ''Misunderstanding Science'' (Cambridge & New York: Cambridge University Press).</ref> and Massimiano Bucchi in 1998<ref>Massimiano Bucchi (1998) ''Science and the Media'' (London & New York: Routledge).</ref>). In 2016, the scholarly journal ''Public Understanding of Science'' ran an essay competition on the "deficit model" or "deficit concept" of science communication and published a series of articles answering the question "In science communication, why does the idea of a public deficit always return?" in different ways;<ref>{{cite web |title=Public Understanding of Science – Volume 25, Number 4, May 2016 |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/pusa/25/4 |access-date=2019-09-18}}</ref> for example, Carina Cortassa's essay argued that the deficit model of science communication is just a special case of an omnipresent problem studied in [[Philosophy:Social epistemology|social epistemology]] of [[Philosophy:Philosophy of testimony|testimony]], the problem of "epistemic asymmetry", which arises whenever some people know more about some things than other people.<ref name="Cortassa">{{cite journal |last=Cortassa |first=Carina |date=May 2016 |title=In science communication, why does the idea of a public deficit always return?: the eternal recurrence of the public deficit |journal=Public Understanding of Science |volume=25 |issue=4 |pages=447–459 |doi=10.1177/0963662516629745 |pmid=27117772|s2cid=36739598 }}</ref> Science communication is just one kind of attempt to reduce epistemic asymmetry between people who may know more and people who may know less about a certain subject.<ref name="Cortassa"/>

Biologist Randy Olson said in 2009 that anti-science groups can often be so motivated, and so well funded, that the impartiality of science organizations in politics can lead to crises of public understanding of science.<ref name=POIOlson/> He cited examples of [[Social:Denialism|denialism]] (for instance, [[Earth:Climate change denial|climate change denial]]) to support this worry.<ref name=POIOlson>(23 October 2009.) [http://www.pointofinquiry.org/randy_olson_dont_be_such_a_scientist/ "Randy Olson – Don't Be Such a Scientist."] (Includes podcast). [http://www.pointofinquiry.org/ Pointofinquiry.org]. Accessed May 2012.</ref> Journalist Robert Krulwich likewise argued in 2008 that the stories scientists tell compete with the efforts of people such as Turkish creationist [[Biography:Adnan Oktar|Adnan Oktar]].<ref name="KrulwichSpeech">{{cite journal |last=Krulwich |first=Robert |date=Fall 2008 |title=Tell me a story |journal=Engineering and Science (Caltech Magazine) |volume=71 |issue=3 |pages=10–16 |url=http://calteches.library.caltech.edu/4294/1/Story.pdf}}</ref> Krulwich explained that attractive, easy to read, and cheap creationist textbooks were sold by the thousands to schools in Turkey (despite their strong secular tradition) due to the efforts of Oktar.<ref name="KrulwichSpeech"/><ref name=Krulwich>Miller, Lulu (29 July 2008).[https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/articles/91852-tell-me-a-story "Tell Me a Story."] (Includes podcast). [http://www.radiolab.org/ Radiolab.org]. Accessed May 2012.</ref> Astrobiologist [[Biography:David Morrison (astrophysicist)|David Morrison]] has spoken of repeated disruption of his work by popular anti-scientific phenomena, having been called upon to assuage public fears of an impending [[Unsolved:Nibiru cataclysm|cataclysm]] involving an unseen planetary object—first in 2008, and again in 2012 and 2017.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Selk|first1=Avi|title=Please stop annoying this NASA scientist with your ridiculous Planet X doomsday theories|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/11/18/please-stop-annoying-this-nasa-scientist-with-your-ridiculous-planet-x-doomsday-theories/|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=18 December 2017}}</ref>

==Methods==
[[File:Physicsworks.ogv|thumb|Walter Lewin demonstrates conservation of potential energy. It can be difficult to captivatingly share good scientific thinking as well as scientifically accurate information. Krulwich and Olson believe scientists must rise to that challenge using metaphor and story telling.<ref name=POIOlson/><ref name="KrulwichSpeech"/><ref name=Krulwich/>]]

[[File:20230612 Predictors of changing opinions about global warming - survey.svg|thumb|The strongest correlates of self-reported changes in opinion about global warming were Republican party identification, seeing others experience impacts of global warming, learning more about global warming, and injunctive social norms (perceiving that ''others'' think it is important to act).<ref name=ClimateComms_>Data from {{cite web |last1=Allew |first1=Matthew |last2=Marlon |first2=Jennifer |last3=Goldberg |first3=Matthew |last4=Maibach |first4=Edward |last5=Rosenthal |first5=Seth |last6=Aiken |first6=Emily |last7=Leiserowitz |first7=Anthony |display-authors=4 |title=Experience with global warming is changing people's minds about it |url=https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/experience-with-global-warming-is-changing-peoples-minds-about-it/ |publisher=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230531182758/https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/experience-with-global-warming-is-changing-peoples-minds-about-it/ |archive-date=31 May 2023 |date=27 September 2022 |url-status=live }} ● Full technical article (pay wall): {{cite journal |last1=Allew |first1=Matthew |last2=Marlon |first2=Jennifer |last3=Goldberg |first3=Matthew |last4=Maibach |first4=Edward |last5=Rosenthal |first5=Seth |last6=Aiken |first6=Emily |last7=Leiserowitz |first7=Anthony |display-authors=4 |title=Changing minds about global warming: vicarious experience predicts self‑reported opinion change in the USA |journal=Climatic Change |date=4 August 2022 |volume=173 |issue=19 |page=19 |doi=10.1007/s10584-022-03397-w |bibcode=2022ClCh..173...19B |s2cid=251323601 |url=https://link.springer.com/epdf/10.1007/s10584-022-03397-w}} (Fig. 2 on p. 12) ([https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GL3GXIKsE30aklRsDmYm6OX5ul_VME2k/view preprint])</ref>]]
Science popularization figures such as [[Biography:Carl Sagan|Carl Sagan]] and [[Biography:Neil deGrasse Tyson|Neil deGrasse Tyson]] are partly responsible for the view of science or a specific science discipline within the general public. However, the degree of knowledge and experience a science popularizer has can vary greatly. Because of this, some science communication can depend on [[Social:Sensationalism|sensationalism]]. As a Forbes contributor put it, "The main job of physics popularizers is the same as it is for any celebrity: get more famous."<ref name="Forbes">{{cite web |title=What is Neil deGrasse Tyson's Role in the Scientific Community? |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2017/08/11/what-is-neil-degrasse-tysons-role-in-the-scientific-community/#17afaca875a5 |website=Forbes |access-date=29 November 2018}}</ref> Another point in the controversy of popular science is the idea of how public debate can affect public opinion. A relevant and highly public example of this is [[Earth:Climate change|climate change]]. A science communication study appearing in ''{{wipe|The New York Times}}'' proves that "even a fractious minority wields enough power to skew a reader's perception of a [science news] story" and that even "firmly worded (but not uncivil) disagreements between commenters affected readers' perception of science."<ref name="Walsh">{{cite journal |last1=Walsh |first1=Lynda |title=The Double-Edged Sword of Popularization |journal=Science Communication |volume=37 |issue=5 |pages=658–669 |doi=10.1177/1075547015581928 |year=2015 |s2cid=144140159 }}</ref> This causes some to worry about the popularizing of science in the public, questioning whether the further popularization of science will cause pressure towards generalization or sensationalism.<ref name="Walsh"/>

Marine biologist and film-maker Randy Olson published ''Don't Be Such a Scientist: Talking Substance in an Age of Style''. In the book he describes how there has been an unproductive negligence when it comes to teaching scientists to communicate. ''Don't be Such a Scientist'' is written to his fellow scientists, and he says they need to "lighten up". He adds that scientists are ultimately the most responsible for promoting and explaining science to the public and media. This, Olson says, should be done according to a good grasp of [[Social:Social science|social science]]; scientists must use persuasive and effective means like story telling. Olson acknowledges that the stories told by scientists need not only be compelling but also accurate to modern science—and says this added challenge must simply be confronted. He points to figures like [[Biography:Carl Sagan|Carl Sagan]] as effective popularizers, partly because such figures actively cultivate a likeable image.<ref name=POIOlson/>

[[File:20230321 Effectiveness of techniques to motivate climate mitigation action - bar chart.svg|thumb|Presenting data and other facts is less effective in motivating people to act to mitigate climate change, than financial incentives and social pressure involved in showing people climate-related actions of other people.<ref name=PNAS_20230321>{{cite journal |last1=Bergquist |first1=Magnus |last2=Thiel |first2=Maximilian |last3=Goldberg |first3=Matthew H. |last4=van der Linden |first4=Sander |title=Field interventions for climate change mitigation behaviors: A second-order meta-analysis |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=21 March 2023 |volume=120 |issue=13 |page=e2214851120 |doi=10.1073/pnas.2214851120 |pmid=36943888 |pmc=10068847 |bibcode=2023PNAS..12014851B }} (Table 1)<br>— Explained by {{cite magazine |last1=Thompson |first1=Andrea |title=What Makes People Act on Climate Change, according to Behavioral Science |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-makes-people-act-on-climate-change-according-to-behavioral-science/ |magazine=Scientific American |date=19 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421034858/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-makes-people-act-on-climate-change-according-to-behavioral-science/ |archive-date=21 April 2023 |url-status=live }}</ref>]]
At his commencement address to Caltech students, journalist Robert Krulwich delivered a speech entitled "Tell me a story".<ref name="KrulwichSpeech"/> Krulwich says that scientists are actually given many opportunities to explain something interesting about science or their work, and that they must seize such opportunities. He says scientists must resist shunning the public, as Sir Isaac Newton did in his writing, and instead embrace metaphors the way Galileo did; Krulwich suggests that metaphors only become more important as the science gets more difficult to understand. He adds that telling stories of science in practice, of scientists' success stories and struggles, helps convey that scientists are real people. Finally, Krulwich advocates for the importance of scientific values in general, and helping the public to understand that scientific views are not mere opinions, but hard-won knowledge.<ref name=Krulwich/>

Actor Alan Alda helped scientists and PhD students get more comfortable with communication with the help of drama coaches (they use the acting techniques of Viola Spolin).<ref name=Viola>Grushkin, Daniel (5 August 2010). [https://web.archive.org/web/20120331070439/http://classic.the-scientist.com/news/display/57611/ "Try acting like a scientist"] [http://the-scientist.com/ The Scientist Magazine]. Accessed May 2012 (archive accessed Jan 2022).</ref>

Matthew Nisbet described the use of [[Social:Opinion leadership|opinion leaders]] as intermediaries between scientists and the public as a way to reach the public via trained individuals who are more closely engaged with their communities, such as "teachers, business leaders, attorneys, policymakers, neighborhood leaders, students, and media professionals".<ref name=Nisbet2018/> Examples of initiatives that have taken this approach include Science & Engineering Ambassadors, sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences, and Science Booster Clubs, coordinated by the [[Organization:National Center for Science Education|National Center for Science Education]].<ref name=Nisbet2018>{{cite journal |last1=Nisbet |first1=Matthew |title=Ambassadors for Science: Harnessing the Power of Opinion-Leaders across Communities |journal=[[Unsolved:Skeptical Inquirer|Skeptical Inquirer]] |date=2018 |volume=42 |issue=2 |pages=30–31 |url=https://www.csicop.org/si/show/ambassadors_for_science |access-date=1 June 2018}}</ref>

=== Evidence based practices ===
Similar to how [[Medicine:Evidence-based medicine|evidence-based medicine]] gained a foothold in medical communication decades ago, researchers Eric Jensen and Alexander Gerber have argued that science communication would benefit from evidence-based prescriptions since the field faces related challenges.<ref name=JensenGerber2020/> In particular, they argued that the lack of collaboration between researchers and practitioners is a problem: "Ironically, the challenges begin with communication about science communication evidence."<ref name=JensenGerber2020/>{{rp|2}}

The overall effectiveness of the science communication field is limited by the lack of effective transfer mechanisms for practitioners to apply research in their work and perhaps even investigate, together with researchers, communication strategies, Jensen and Gerber said.<ref name=JensenGerber2020/> Closer collaboration could enrich the spectrum of science communication research and increase the existing [[Methodology|methodological]] toolbox, including more [[Social:Longitudinal study|longitudinal and experimental studies]].<ref name=JensenGerber2020/>

Evidence-based science communication would combine the best available evidence from systematic research, underpinned by established theory, as well as practitioners' acquired skills and expertise, reducing the double-disconnect between scholarship and practice.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gerber|first=Alexander|title=Opening Science |chapter=Science Caught Flat-Footed: How Academia Struggles with Open Science Communication|date=2014|pages=73–80|editor1-last=Bartling|editor1-first=Sönke|editor2-last=Friesike|editor2-first=Sascha|location=Cham|publisher=Springer International Publishing|language=en|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-00026-8_4|doi-access=free|isbn=978-3-319-00026-8}}</ref> Neither adequately take into account the other side's priorities, needs and possible solutions, Jensen and Gerber argued; bridging the gap and fostering closer collaboration could allow for mutual learning, enhancing the overall advancements of science communication as a young field.<ref name=JensenGerber2020/>

===Imagining science's publics===
In the preface of ''[[Biology:The Selfish Gene|The Selfish Gene]]'', [[Biography:Richard Dawkins|Richard Dawkins]] wrote: "Three imaginary readers looked over my shoulder while I was writing, and I now dedicate the book to them. [...] First the general reader, the layman [...] second the expert [and] third the student".

[[File:Science & Technology Fair 2011 - Kolkata 2011-02-09 0921.JPG|thumb|Students explain science projects to visitors. Susanna Hornig promotes the message that anyone can meaningfully engage with science, even without going as deeply into it as the researchers themselves do.<ref name="Priest">Priest, Susanna Hornig (2009) "Reinterpreting the audiences for media messages about science", in Richard Holliman et al. (eds), ''Investigating Science Communication in the Information Age: Implications for Public Engagement and Popular Media'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press), 223–236.</ref>]]

Many criticisms of the public understanding of science movement have emphasized that this thing they were calling the public was somewhat of an (unhelpful) black box. Approaches to the public changed with the move away from the public understanding of science. Science communication researchers and practitioners now often showcase their desire to listen to non-scientists as well as acknowledging an awareness of the fluid and complex nature of (post/late) modern social identities.<ref>For example, see: Irwin, Alan & Michael, Mike (2003). ''Science, Social Theory and Public Knowledge'' (Maidenhead & Philadelphia: Open University Press). chapter 6</ref> At the very least, people will use plurals: publics or audiences. As the editor of the scholarly journal ''Public Understanding of Science'' put it in a special issue on publics:

<blockquote>
We have clearly moved from the old days of the deficit frame and thinking of publics as monolithic to viewing publics as active, knowledgeable, playing multiple roles, receiving as well as shaping science. (Einsiedel, 2007: 5)<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Einsiedel | first1 = Edna | year = 2005 | title = Editorial: Of Publics and Science | journal = Public Understanding of Science | volume = 16 | issue = 1| pages = 5–6 | doi = 10.1177/0963662506071289 | s2cid = 143626350 }}</ref>
</blockquote>

However, Einsiedel goes on to suggest both views of the public are "monolithic" in their own way; they both choose to declare what something called the public is. Some promoters of public understanding of science might have ridiculed publics for their ignorance, but an alternative "public engagement with science and technology" romanticizes its publics for their participatory instincts, intrinsic morality or simple collective wisdom. As Susanna Hornig Priest concluded in her 2009 introduction essay on science's contemporary audiences, the job of science communication might be to help non-scientists feel they are not excluded as opposed to always included; that they can join in if they want, rather than that there is a necessity to spend their lives engaging.<ref name="Priest" />

The process of quantifiably surveying public opinion of science is now largely associated with the public understanding of science movement (some would say unfairly).<ref>Martin Bauer, Nick Allum and Steve Miller, "What can we learn from 25 years of PUS survey research? Liberating and expanding the agenda", ''Public Understanding of Science'', volume 16, 2007, pages 79–95.</ref> In the US, Jon Miller is the name most associated with such work and well known for differentiating between identifiable "attentive" or "interested" publics (that is to say science fans) and those who do not care much about science and technology. Miller's work questioned whether the American public had the following four attributes of scientific literacy:

* knowledge of basic textbook scientific factual knowledge
* an understanding of scientific method
* appreciated the positive outcomes of science and technology
* rejected superstitious beliefs, such as astrology or numerology<ref>Martin Bauer, Nick Allum and Steve Miller, "What can we learn from 25 years of PUS survey research? Liberating and expanding the agenda", ''Public Understanding of Science'', volume 16, 2007, pages 80–81.</ref>

In some respects, John Durant's work surveying British public applied similar ideas to Miller. However, they were slightly more concerned with attitudes to science and technology, rather than just how much knowledge people had.<ref>For example: {{cite journal |last1=Durant |first1=John R. |last2=Evans |first2=Geoffrey A. |last3=Thomas |first3=Geoffrey P. |date=July 1989 |title=The public understanding of science |journal=Nature |volume=340 |issue=6228 |pages=11–14 |doi=10.1038/340011a0 |pmid=2739718|bibcode=1989Natur.340...11D |s2cid=5239829 }}</ref> They also looked at public confidence in their knowledge, considering issues such as the gender of those ticking "don't know" boxes. We can see aspects of this approach, as well as a more "public engagement with science and technology" influenced one, reflected within the [[Eurobarometer]] studies of public opinion. These have been running since 1973 to monitor public opinion in the member states, with the aim of helping the preparation of policy (and evaluation of policy). They look at a host of topics, not just science and technology but also defense, the [[Finance:Euro|euro]], enlargement of the European Union, and culture. Eurobarometer's 2008 study of Europeans' Attitudes to Climate Change is a good example.<ref>(September 2008.) [http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_300_full_en.pdf "Europeans' attitudes towards climate change."] European Parliament and European Commission (accessed in May 2012).</ref> It focuses on respondents' "subjective level of information"; asking "personally, do you think that you are well informed or not about...?" rather than checking what people knew.

===Frame analysis===
Science communication can be analyzed through [[Social:Frame analysis|frame analysis]], a research method used to analyze how people understand situations and activities.

Some features of this analysis are listed below.
* Public accountability: placing a blame on public actions for value, e.g. political gain in the climate change debate
* Runaway technology: creating a certain view of technological advancements, e.g. photos of an exploded nuclear power plant
* Scientific uncertainty: questioning the reliability of a scientific theory, e.g. arguing how bad global climate change can be if humans are still alive<ref>See, for example, Nisbet, Matthew C. (March/April 2009). [https://web.archive.org/web/20090501153803/http://www.environmentmagazine.org/Archives/Back%20Issues/March-April%202009/Nisbet-full.html "Communicating Climate Change: Why Frames Matter for Public Engagement"]. ''Environment''. Retrieved 20 October 2010.</ref>

=== Heuristics ===
People make an enormous number of decisions every day, and to approach all of them in a careful, methodical manner is impractical. They therefore often use mental shortcuts known as "[[Heuristic|heuristic]]s" to quickly arrive at acceptable inferences.<ref name=":0">Fiske, S. T., & Taylor, S. E. (1991). ''Social Cognition'' (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.</ref> Tversky and [[Biography:Daniel Kahneman|Kahneman]] originally proposed three heuristics, listed below, although there are many others that have been discussed in later research.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Tversky|first1=Amos|last2=Kahneman|first2=Daniel|date=27 September 1974|title=Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases|journal=Science|volume=185|issue=4157|pages=1124–1131|doi=10.1126/science.185.4157.1124|issn=0036-8075|pmid=17835457|bibcode=1974Sci...185.1124T|s2cid=143452957}}</ref> 
* Representativeness: used to make assumptions about probability based on relevancy, e.g. how likely item A is to be a member of category B (is Kim a chef?), or that event C resulted from process D (could the sequence of coin tosses H-H-T-T have occurred randomly?).
* [[Availability heuristic|Availability]]: used to estimate how frequent or likely an event is based on how quickly one can conjure examples of the event. For example, if one were asked to approximate the number of people in your age group that are currently in college, your judgment would be affected by how many of your own acquaintances are in college.
* [[Philosophy:Anchoring|Anchoring and adjustment]]: used when making judgments with uncertainties. One will start with an anchoring point, then adjust it to reach an assumption. For example, if you are asked to estimate how many people will take Dr. Smith's biology class this spring, you may recall that 38 students took the class in the fall, and adjust your estimation based on whether the class is more popular in the spring or in the fall.

The most effective science communication efforts take into account the role that heuristics play in everyday decision-making. Many outreach initiatives focus solely on increasing the public's knowledge, but studies have found little, if any, correlation between knowledge levels and attitudes towards scientific issues.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Brossard|first1=Dominique|last2=Lewenstein|first2=Bruce|last3=Bonney|first3=Rick|date=1 January 2005|title=Scientific knowledge and attitude change: The impact of a citizen science project|journal=International Journal of Science Education|volume=27|issue=9|pages=1099–1121|doi=10.1080/09500690500069483|issn=0950-0693|bibcode=2005IJSEd..27.1099B|s2cid=16830396}}</ref><ref>Scheufele, D. A. (2006). Messages and heuristics: How audiences form attitudes about emerging technologies. In J. Turney (Ed.), Engaging science: Thoughts, deeds, analysis and action (pp. 20–25). London: The Wellcome Trust.</ref>

===Inclusive communication and cultural differences===
Inclusive science communication seeks to build equity by prioritizing communication that is built with and for marginalized groups that are not reached through typical top-down science communication.<ref name="Canfield2020">{{Cite tech report|last=Canfield|first=Katherine|last2=Menezes|first2=Sunshine|title=The State of Inclusive Science Communication: A Landscape Study|publisher=Metcalf Institute, University of Rhode Island|year=November 2020|location=Kingston, RI|url=https://inclusivescicomm.org/files/State-of-Inclusive-SciComm-2020.pdf}}</ref>

Science communication is affected by the same implicit inequities embedded in the production of science research. It has traditionally centered Western science and communicated in Western language. Māori researcher Linda Tuhiwai Smith details how scientific research is "inextricably linked to European imperialism and colonialism".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tuhiwai Smith |first=Linda |title=Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples |publisher=Bloomsbury |year=2021 |edition=3rd |pages=1}}</ref> The field's focus on Western science results in publicizing "discoveries" by Western scientists that have been known to Indigenous scientists and communities for generations,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Magazine |first=Smithsonian |title=When Scientists "Discover" What Indigenous People Have Known For Centuries |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/why-science-takes-so-long-catch-up-traditional-knowledge-180968216/ |access-date=2023-04-04 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref> continuing the cycle of colonial exploitation of physical and intellectual resources.

Collin Bjork notes that science communication is linked to oppression because European colonizers "employed both the English language and western science as tools for subjugating others".<ref name="Bjork 2022"/> Today, English is still considered the international language of science and 80% of science journals in Scopus are published in English.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=van Weijen |first=Daphne |date=2012-11-01 |title=The language of (future) scientific communication |url=https://www.researchtrends.com/researchtrends/vol1/iss31/3 |journal=Research Trends |volume=1 |issue=31 |issn=2213-4441}}</ref> As a result, most science journalism also communicates in English or must use English sources, limiting the audience that science communication can reach.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Márquez |first1=Melissa C. |last2=Porras |first2=Ana Maria |date=2020 |title=Science Communication in Multiple Languages Is Critical to Its Effectiveness |journal=Frontiers in Communication |volume=5 |doi=10.3389/fcomm.2020.00031 |issn=2297-900X |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Just as science has historically excluded communities of Black, Indigenous and people of color,<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |title=Populations Underrepresented in the Extramural Scientific Workforce {{!}} SWD at NIH |url=https://diversity.nih.gov/about-us/population-underrepresented |access-date=2023-04-04 |website=diversity.nih.gov |language=en}}</ref> LGBTQ+ communities<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Freeman |first=Jon |date=July 2018 |title=LGBTQ scientists are still left out |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=559 |issue=7712 |pages=27–28 |doi=10.1038/d41586-018-05587-y|pmid=29968839 |bibcode=2018Natur.559...27F |s2cid=256767682 |doi-access=free }}</ref> and communities of lower socioeconomic status or education,<ref name=":6" /> science communication has also failed to center these audiences.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kennedy |first1=Eric B. |last2=Jensen |first2=Eric A. |last3=Verbeke |first3=Monae |date=2018-01-02 |title=Preaching to the scientifically converted: evaluating inclusivity in science festival audiences |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/21548455.2017.1371356 |journal=International Journal of Science Education, Part B |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=14–21 |doi=10.1080/21548455.2017.1371356 |s2cid=148754039 |issn=2154-8455}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Judd |first1=Karina |last2=McKinnon |first2=Merryn |date=2021 |title=A Systematic Map of Inclusion, Equity and Diversity in Science Communication Research: Do We Practice what We Preach? |journal=Frontiers in Communication |volume=6 |doi=10.3389/fcomm.2021.744365 |issn=2297-900X |doi-access=free }}</ref> Science communication cannot be inclusive or effective if these communities are not involved in both the creation and dissemination of science information.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Humm |first1=Christian |last2=Schrögel |first2=Philipp |date=2020 |title=Science for All? Practical Recommendations on Reaching Underserved Audiences |url=https://publikationen.bibliothek.kit.edu/1000121018 |journal=Frontiers in Communication |language=de |volume=5 |pages=42 |doi=10.3389/fcomm.2020.00042 |issn=2297-900X |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":9">{{Cite journal |last1=Thompson |first1=Beti |last2=Molina |first2=Yamile |last3=Viswanath |first3=Kasisomayajula |last4=Warnecke |first4=Richard |last5=Prelip |first5=Michael L. |date=2016-08-01 |title=Strategies To Empower Communities To Reduce Health Disparities |journal=Health Affairs |volume=35 |issue=8 |pages=1424–1428 |doi=10.1377/hlthaff.2015.1364 |issn=0278-2715 |pmc=5554943 |pmid=27503967}}</ref> One strategy to improve inclusivity in science communication is by building philanthropic coalitions with marginalized communities.<ref name=":9" /><ref name=":14">{{Cite web |title=The Civic Science Imperative (SSIR) |url=https://ssir.org/articles/entry/the_civic_science_imperative |access-date=2023-04-04 |website=ssir.org |language=en-us}}</ref><ref name=":15">{{Cite web |title=How Science Philanthropy Can Build Equity (SSIR) |url=https://ssir.org/articles/entry/how_science_philanthropy_can_build_equity |access-date=2023-04-04 |website=ssir.org |language=en-us}}</ref>

The 2018 article titled "The Civic Science Imperative" in the Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR) outlined how civic science could expand inclusion in science and science communication.<ref name=":14" /> Civic science fosters public engagement with science issues so citizens can spur meaningful policy, societal or democratic change.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Garlick |first1=Ja |last2=Levine |first2=P |date=September 2017 |title=Where civics meets science: building science for the public good through Civic Science |journal=Oral Diseases |language=en |volume=23 |issue=6 |pages=692–696 |doi=10.1111/odi.12534|pmid=27388138 |doi-access=free }}</ref> This article outlined the strategies of supporting effective science communication and engagement, building diverse coalitions, building flexibility to meet changing goals, centering shared values, and using research and feedback loops to increase trust.<ref name=":14" /> However, the authors of the 2020 SSIR article "How Science Philanthropy Can Build Equity" warned that these approaches will not combat systemic barriers of racism, sexism, ableism, xenophobia or classism without the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).<ref name=":15" />

DEI in science communication can take many forms, but will always: include marginalized groups in the goal setting, design and implementation of the science communication; use experts to determine the unique values, needs and communication style of the community being reached; test to determine the best way to reach each segment of a community; and include ways to mitigate harm or stress for community members who engage with this work.<ref name=":15" />

Efforts to make science communication more inclusive can focus on a global, national or local community. The Metcalf Institute for Marine & Environmental Reporting at the [[Organization:University of Rhode Island|University of Rhode Island]] produced a survey of these practices in 2020.<ref name="Canfield2020" /> "How Science Philanthropy Can Build Equity" also lists several successful civic science projects and approaches.<ref name=":15" /> Complementary methods for including diverse voices include the use of poetry,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bell | first1=Alice | last2 = Capstick | first2=Stuart| last3=Corner| first3 = Adam | last4 = Forster | first4 = Piers |last5 = Illingworth | first5 = Sam | last6 = Leigh | first6 = Rosie | last7 = Loroño Leturiondo | first7 = Maria | last8 = Muller | first8 = Catherine | last9 =Richardson | first9=Harriett | last10 = Shuckburg | first10 = Emily | date = 2018 | title = Representing the majority and not the minority: the importance of the individual in communicating climate change | journal = Geoscience Communication | volume = 1 | issue = 1 | pages = 9–24 | doi =10.5194/gc-1-9-2018 | s2cid=55809517 | doi-access=free }}</ref> participatory arts,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Birke | first1=Miriam | last2 = Ockwell | first2=David | last3= Whitmarsh | first3 = Lorraine | date = 2018 | title = Participatory arts and affective engagement with climate change: The missing link in achieving climate compatible behaviour change?| journal = Global Environmental Change | volume = 49 | pages = 95–105 | doi=10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2018.02.007 | s2cid=158655069 | url=http://orca.cf.ac.uk/109444/1/Whitmarsh.%20Participatory%20arts.pdf }}</ref> film,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Howell | first=Rachel | date = 2011 | title = Lights, camera… action? Altered attitudes and behaviour in response to the climate change film The Age of Stupid | journal = Global Environmental Change | volume = 21 | issue = 1 | pages = 177–187 | doi =10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2010.09.004| url=https://www.pure.ed.ac.uk/ws/files/21714326/Howell_AoS_paper_1_accepted_.pdf | hdl = 20.500.11820/ca1502ff-23de-4e17-b37f-ce6baedf528e | s2cid=153661142 | hdl-access = free }}</ref> and games,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Illingworth | first1=Sam|last2=Wake |first2=Paul | date = 2021 | title = Ten simple rules for designing analogue science games | journal = PLOS Computational Biology | volume = 17 | issue = 6 | pages=e1009009| doi =10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009009 | pmid=34111111| pmc=8192012| bibcode=2021PLSCB..17E9009I| doi-access=free}}</ref> all of which have been used to engage various publics by monitoring, deliberating, and responding to their attitudes toward science and scientific discourse.

== Science in popular culture and the media ==

[[File:Light_bulb_Edison_2.jpg|thumb|This diagram, designed by [[Biography:Thomas Edison|Thomas Edison]] in 1880, is intended to depict the workings of a light bulb.|alt=The diagram, designed by Thomas Edison in 1880, is intended to depict the workings of a light bulb.]]

=== Birth of public science ===
While scientific study began to emerge as a popular discourse following the [[Philosophy:Renaissance|Renaissance]] and the [[Philosophy:Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]], science was not widely funded or exposed to the public until the nineteenth century.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://undsci.berkeley.edu/article/who_pays|title=Who pays for science?|website=www.berkeley.edu|publisher=Berkeley University|access-date=29 October 2016}}</ref> Most science prior to this was funded by individuals under private [[Social:Patronage|patronage]] and was studied in exclusive groups, like the Royal Society. Public science emerged due to a gradual [[Philosophy:Marxism|social change]], resulting from the rise of the middle class in the nineteenth century. As scientific inventions, like the [[Engineering:Conveyor belt|conveyor belt]] and the [[Engineering:Steam locomotive|steam locomotive]] entered and enhanced the lifestyle of people in the nineteenth century, scientific inventions began to be widely funded by [[Organization:University|universities]] and other public institutions in an effort to increase scientific research.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.victorianweb.org/science/science.html|title=Science Technology Timeline|date=2002|website=www.victorianweb.org|access-date=25 October 2016}}</ref> Since scientific achievements were beneficial to society, the pursuit of scientific knowledge resulted in science as a profession. Scientific institutions, like the National Academy of Sciences or the [[Organization:British Science Association|British Association for the Advancement of Science]] are examples of leading platforms for the public discussion of science.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.victorianweb.org/science/baas.htm|title=BAAS|date=2002|website=www.victorianweb.org|access-date=25 October 2016}}</ref> [[Biography:David Brewster|David Brewster]], founder of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, believed in regulated publications in order to effectively communicate their discoveries, "so that scientific students may know where to begin their labours."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.britishscienceassociation.org/history|title=British Science Association History|website=www.britishscienceassociation.org|date=12 December 2014 |publisher=British Science Association|access-date=30 October 2016}}</ref> As the communication of science reached a wider audience, due to the [[Social:Professionalization|professionalization]] of science and its introduction to the [[Philosophy:Public sphere|public sphere]], the interest in the subject increased.

=== Scientific media in the 19th century ===
[[File:Koenig's steam press - 1814.png|left|thumb|Fredrich Koenig's steam powered printing press, 1814]]
As the audience for scientific texts expanded, the interest in public science did as well. "Extension lectures" were installed in some universities, like Oxford and Cambridge, which encouraged members of the public to attend lectures.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cam.ac.uk/about-the-university/history/nineteenth-and-twentieth-centuries|title=About the University: Nineteenth and twentieth centuries|date=2013-01-28|website=University of Cambridge|access-date=31 October 2016}}</ref> In America, traveling lectures were a common occurrence in the nineteenth century and attracted hundreds of viewers. These public lectures were a part of the lyceum movement and demonstrated basic [[Experiment|scientific experiments]], which advanced scientific knowledge for both the educated and uneducated viewers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://dh.dickinson.edu/digitalmuseum/exhibit-artifact/making-the-invisible-visible/showing-scientific-lecturing-19th-century|title=Showing off: Scientific Lecturing in the 19th century|website=The Dickinsonia History Project|publisher=Dickinson College|access-date=2 November 2016}}</ref>

Not only did the popularization of public science enlighten the general public through [[Social:Mass media|mass media]], but it also enhanced communication within the [[Philosophy:Scientific community|scientific community]]. Although scientists had been communicating their discoveries and achievements through print for centuries, publications with a variety of subjects decreased in popularity.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.victorianweb.org/science/sci_publishing.html|title=Science Publishing|last=Fyfe|first=Aileen|publisher=Brown University|access-date=29 October 2016}}</ref> Alternatively, publications in discipline-specific journals were crucial for a successful career in the sciences in the nineteenth century. As a result, [[Scientific journal|scientific journal]]s such as ''Nature'' or ''National Geographic'' possessed a large readership and received substantial funding by the end of the nineteenth century as the popularization of science continued.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Making "Nature": The History of a Scientific Journal|last=Brown|first=Melinda|publisher=University of Chicago Press|year=2015|isbn=978-0226261454|location=Chicago, USA}}</ref>

=== Science communication in contemporary media ===
Science can be communicated to the public in many different ways. According to Karen Bultitude, a science communication lecturer at [[Organization:University College London|University College London]], these can be broadly categorized into three groups: traditional journalism, live or face-to-face events, and online interaction.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/staff/bultitude/KB_TB/Karen_Bultitude_-_Science_Communication_Why_and_How.pdf|title=The Why and How of Science Communication|last=Bultitude|first=Karen|date=2011|access-date=25 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120813110819/http://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/staff/bultitude/KB_TB/Karen_Bultitude_-_Science_Communication_Why_and_How.pdf|archive-date=13 August 2012}}</ref>

==== Traditional journalism ====
Traditional journalism (for example, [[Biology:Newspaper|newspaper]]s, [[Finance:Magazine|magazine]]s, [[Engineering:Television|television]] and [[Social:Radio|radio]]) has the advantage of reaching large audiences; in the past, this is way most people regularly accessed information about science.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ipsos-mori.com/Assets/Docs/Polls/sri-pas-2011-main-report.pdf|title=Public Attitudes to Science 2011|last=Ipsos-MORI|date=2011|access-date=27 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721050636/https://www.ipsos-mori.com/Assets/Docs/Polls/sri-pas-2011-main-report.pdf|archive-date=21 July 2015}}</ref> Traditional media is also more likely to produce information that is high quality (well written or presented), as it will have been produced by professional journalists. Traditional journalism is often also responsible for setting agendas and having an impact on government [[Policy|policy]].<ref name=":3" /> The traditional journalistic method of communication is one-way, so there can be no dialogue with the public, and science stories can often be reduced in scope so that there is a limited focus for a mainstream audience, who may not be able to comprehend the bigger picture from a scientific perspective.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":1"/> However, there is new research now available on the role of newspapers and television channels in constituting "scientific public spheres" which enable participation of a wide range of actors in public deliberations.<ref>Shiju Sam Varughese.2017. ''Contested Knowledge: Science, Media, and Democracy in Kerala''. Oxford University Press, New Delhi.</ref>

Another disadvantage of traditional journalism is that, once a science story is taken up by mainstream media, the scientist(s) involved no longer has any direct control over how his or her work is communicated, which may lead to misunderstanding or misinformation.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=McCartney|first=Margaret|date=25 January 2016|title=Margaret McCartney: Who gains from the media's misrepresentation of science?|url=http://www.bmj.com/content/352/bmj.i355|journal=BMJ|volume=352|pages=i355|doi=10.1136/bmj.i355|issn=1756-1833|pmid=26810502|doi-access=free}}</ref> Research in this area demonstrates how the relationship between journalists and scientists has been strained in some instances.<ref name=":11">{{Cite journal|last=Dudo|first=Anthony|date=1 September 2015|title=Scientists, the Media, and the Public Communication of Science|journal=Sociology Compass|volume=9|issue=9|pages=761–775|doi=10.1111/soc4.12298|issn=1751-9020}}</ref> On one hand scientists have reported being frustrated with things like journalists oversimplifying or dramatizing of their work, while on the other hand journalists find scientists difficult to work with and ill-equipped to communicate their work to a general audience.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book|title=The Oxford handbook of the science of science communication|others=Jamieson, Kathleen Hall,, Kahan, Dan M.,, Scheufele, Dietram|isbn=9780190497620|location=New York, NY, United States of America|oclc=962750268|last1 = Jamieson|first1 = Kathleen Hall|last2=Kahan|first2=Dan M.|last3=Scheufele|first3=Dietram A.|year=2017}}</ref><ref name=":11" /> Despite this potential tension, a comparison of scientists from several countries has shown that many scientists are pleased with their media interactions and engage often.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Peters|first1=Hans Peter|last2=Brossard|first2=Dominique|last3=Cheveigné|first3=Suzanne de|last4=Dunwoody|first4=Sharon|last5=Kallfass|first5=Monika|last6=Miller|first6=Steve|last7=Tsuchida|first7=Shoji|date=11 July 2008|title=Interactions with the Mass Media|journal=Science|volume=321|issue=5886|pages=204–205|doi=10.1126/science.1157780|issn=0036-8075|pmid=18625578|s2cid=29943089}}</ref>

However, the use of traditional media sources, like newspapers and television, has steadily declined as primary sources for science information, while the internet has rapidly increased in prominence.<ref name=":13">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/2018/nsb20181/|title=S&E Indicators 2018 {{!}} NSF - National Science Foundation|website=www.nsf.gov|access-date=28 March 2018}}</ref> In 2016, 55% of Americans reported using the internet as their primary source to learn about science and technology, compared to 24% reporting TV and 4% reporting newspapers were their primary sources.<ref name=":13" /> Additionally, traditional media outlets have dramatically decreased the number of, or in some cases eliminated, science journalists and the amount of science-related content they publish.<ref name=":16" />

==== Live or face-to-face events ====
The second category is live or face-to-face events, such as public lectures in museums or universities,<ref name="Rawlinson">{{cite journal|last1=Rawlinson|first1=Katherine|title=Family-focused campus-based university event increases perceived knowledge, science capital and aspirations across a wide demographic|journal=International Journal of Science Education, Part B|year=2021|volume=11|issue=3|pages=273–291|doi=10.1080/21548455.2021.1971319|doi-access=free}}</ref> debates, science busking,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Illingworth |first=Sam |date=October 2017 |title=Delivering effective science communication: advice from a professional science communicator |journal=[[Biology:Seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology|Seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology]] |volume=70 |pages=10–16 |doi=10.1016/j.semcdb.2017.04.002 |pmid=28412537 |s2cid=44592196 |quote=Science busking: these take the form of a series of science street performances, where science is used to draw in a crowd and explain a topic to them, a little like a close-hand magic show for science. Science busking is incredibly portable and flexible, but does rely upon the skill of the performer, and can occasionally run the risk of wowing rather than explaining/discussing.|url=https://e-space.mmu.ac.uk/618694/1/Delivering%20Effective%20Science%20Communication-%20Advice%20from%20a%20Professional%20Science%20Communicator.pdf }}</ref> "sci-art" exhibits,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sciartinitiative.org/|title=SciArt Initiative|website=sciartinitiative.org|access-date=2019-09-18}}</ref> Science Cafés and science festivals. [[Citizen science]] or crowd-sourced science (scientific research conducted, in whole or in part, by amateur or nonprofessional scientists) can be done with a face-to-face approach, online, or as a combination of the two to engage in science communication.<ref name=":3" /> Research has shown that members of the public seek out science information that is entertaining, but also helping citizens to critically participate in risk regulation and S&T governance.<ref>Shiju Sam Varughese. 2017. ''Contested Knowledge: Science, Media, and Democracy in Kerala''. Oxford University Press, New Delhi</ref> Therefore, it is important to bear this aspect in mind when communicating scientific information to the public (for example, through events combining science communication and comedy, such as Festival of the Spoken Nerd,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Commissariat |first=Tushna |date=February 2018 |title=Of graphs and giggles |journal=Physics World |volume=31 |issue=2 |page=42 |doi=10.1088/2058-7058/31/2/33|bibcode=2018PhyW...31b..42C }}</ref> or during scientific controversies).<ref name=":4" /> The advantages of this approach are that it is more personal and allows scientists to interact with the public, allowing for two-way dialogue. Scientists are also better able to control content using this method. Disadvantages of this method include the limited reach, it can also be resource-intensive and costly and also, it may be that only audiences with an existing interest in science will be attracted.<ref name=":3" />

==== Online interaction ====
The third category is online interaction; for example, websites, blogs, [[Wiki|wiki]]s and [[Podcast|podcast]]s can be used for science communication, as can other [[Social:Social media|social media]] or forms of [[Artificial intelligence|artificial intelligence]] like AI-Chatbots.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Schäfer |first=Mike S. |date=2023-05-02 |title=The Notorious GPT: science communication in the age of artificial intelligence |url=https://jcom.sissa.it/article/pubid/JCOM_2202_2023_Y02/ |journal=Journal of Science Communication |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=Y02 |doi=10.22323/2.22020402 |s2cid=258469451 |issn=1824-2049|doi-access=free }}</ref> Online methods of communicating science have the potential to reach huge audiences, can allow direct interaction between scientists and the public,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Könneker|first1=Carsten|last2=Lugger|first2=Beatrice |date=4 October 2013|title= Public Science 2.0 – Back to the Future |journal=Science|volume=342|issue= 6154|pages=49–50|doi= 10.1126/science.1245848|issn=0036-8075|pmid=24092719|bibcode=2013Sci...342...49K|doi-access=free}}</ref> and the content is always accessible and can be somewhat controlled by the scientist. Additionally, online communication of science can help boost scientists' reputation through increased citations, better circulation of articles, and establishing new collaborations.<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":11" /> Online communication also allows for both one-way and two-way communication, depending on the audience's and the author's preferences. However, there are disadvantages in that it is difficult to control how content is picked up by others, and regular attention and updating is needed.<ref name=":3" />

When considering whether or not to engage in science communication online, scientists should review what science communication research has shown to be the potential positive and negative outcomes. Online communication has given rise to movements like [[Open science|open science]], which advocates for making science more accessible. However, when engaging in communication about science online, scientists should consider not publicizing or reporting findings from their research until it has been peer-reviewed and published, as journals may not accept the work after it has been circulated under the "[[Ingelfinger rule]]".

Other considerations revolve around how scientists will be perceived by other scientists for engaging in communication. For example, some scholars have criticized engaged, popular scholars using concepts like the Sagan effect or [[Kardashian Index]]. Despite these criticisms, many scientists are taking to communicating their work on online platforms, a sign of potentially changing norms in the field.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.the-scientist.com/critic-at-large/science-gone-social-36766|title=Science Gone Social|website=The Scientist Magazine|date=October 2014|access-date=2019-09-18}}</ref>

==== Art ====
According to Lesen et al. (2016),<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lesen |first1=Amy E. |last2=Rogan |first2=Ama |last3=Blum |first3=Michael J. |date=September 2016 |title=Science Communication Through Art: Objectives, Challenges, and Outcomes |journal=Trends in Ecology & Evolution |volume=31 |issue=9 |pages=657–660 |doi=10.1016/j.tree.2016.06.004 |pmid=27377601 |issn=0169-5347}}</ref> art has been a tool increasingly used to attract the public to science. Either formally or in an informal context, an integration between artists and scientists could potentially raise awareness of the general public<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Root-Bernstein |first1=Bob |last2=Siler |first2=Todd |last3=Brown |first3=Adam |last4=Snelson |first4=Kenneth |date=June 2011 |title=ArtScience: Integrative Collaboration to Create a Sustainable Future |journal=Leonardo |volume=44 |issue=3 |pages=192 |doi=10.1162/leon_e_00161 |s2cid=57564224 |issn=0024-094X}}</ref> about current topics in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

The arts have the power of creating emotional links between the public and a research topic and create a collaborative atmosphere that can "activate science" in a different way.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Schwartz |first=Brian |date=2014-08-21 |title=Communicating Science through the Performing Arts |journal=Interdisciplinary Science Reviews |volume=39 |issue=3 |pages=275–289 |doi=10.1179/0308018814z.00000000089 |bibcode=2014ISRv...39..275S |s2cid=108406259 |issn=0308-0188}}</ref> Learning through the affection domain, in contrast to the cognitive domain, increases motivation<ref>{{Citation |last=Törner |first=Günter |title=The Affective Domain |date=2014 |work=MasterClass in Mathematics Education |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing Plc |doi=10.5040/9781350284807.ch-006 |isbn=978-1-44117-975-3|s2cid=262641434 }}</ref> and using the arts to communicate scientific knowledge this way could increase dramatically engagement.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Friedman |first=Alan J. |date=January 2013 |title=Reflections on Communicating Science through Art |journal=Curator: The Museum Journal |volume=56 |issue=1 |pages=3–9 |doi=10.1111/cura.12001 |issn=0011-3069}}</ref>

=== Social media science communication ===
By using [[Company:Twitter|Twitter]], scientists and science communicators can discuss scientific topics with many types of audiences with various points of view.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/social-media-in-science_us_57c8fbcde4b07addc411f6ec|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180608005909/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/social-media-in-science_us_57c8fbcde4b07addc411f6ec|url-status=live|archive-date=8 June 2018|title=Social Media in Science|last=Ramasubbu|first=Suren|date=12 September 2016|website=Huffington Post}}</ref> Studies published in 2012 by Gunther Eysenbach shed light on how Twitter not only communicates science to the public but also affects advances in the science community.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/haydnshaughnessy/2012/01/15/how-could-twitter-influence-science-and-why-scientists-are-on-board/|title=How Could Twitter Influence Science (And Why Scientists Are on Board)|last=Shaughnessy|first=Haydn|date=17 January 2012|website=Forbes|access-date=17 October 2020}}</ref>

Alison Bert, editor in chief of ''[[Company:Elsevier|Elsevier]] Connect'', wrote a 2014 news article titled "How to use social media for science" that reported on a panel about social media at that year's AAAS meeting, in which panelists Maggie Koerth-Baker, Kim Cobb, and Danielle N. Lee noted some potential benefits and drawbacks to scientists of sharing their research on Twitter.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web|url=https://www.elsevier.com/connect/how-to-use-social-media-for-science|title=How to use social media for science – 3 views|last=Burt|first=Alison|date=25 February 2014|website=Elsevier Connect|access-date=17 October 2020}}</ref> Koerth-Baker, for example, commented on the importance of keeping public and private personas on social media separate in order to maintain professionalism online.<ref name=":7" />

Interviewed in 2014, Karen Peterson, director of Scientific Career Development at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center stressed the importance for scientists of using social networks such as [[Company:Facebook|Facebook]] and Twitter to establish an online presence.<ref name=":10">{{Cite news|last=Tachibana|first=Chris|url=https://www.science.org/content/article/scientists-guide-social-media|title=A scientist's guide to social media|date=14 November 2017|work=Science – AAAS|access-date=12 December 2017}}</ref>

Kimberly Collins et al., writing in ''PLOS One'' in 2016, explained reasons why some scientists were hesitant to join Twitter.<ref name=collins>{{Cite journal|last1=Collins|first1=Kimberley|last2=Shiffman|first2=David|last3=Rock|first3=Jenny|date=12 October 2016|title=How Are Scientists Using Social Media in the Workplace?|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=11|issue=10|pages=e0162680|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0162680|pmid=27732598|pmc=5061391|issn=1932-6203|bibcode=2016PLoSO..1162680C|doi-access=free}}</ref> Some scientists were hesitant to use social media outlets such as Twitter due to lack of knowledge of the platform, and inexperience with how to make meaningful posts.<ref name=collins/> Some scientists did not see the meaning in using Twitter as a platform to share their research or have the time to add the information into the accounts themselves.<ref name=collins/>

In 2016, Elena Milani created the SciHashtag Project, which is a condensed collection of Twitter hashtags about science communication.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sagepus.blogspot.com/2016/10/scihashtag-twitter-hashtag-science.html|title=SciHashtag: Twitter hashtags for scientists|last1=Milani|first1=Elena|website=Public Understanding of Science Blog|access-date=12 December 2017}}</ref>

In 2017, a study done by the Pew Research Center found that about "a quarter of social media users (26%) follow science accounts" on social media.<ref name=":8">{{Cite news|url=https://www.journalism.org/2017/09/20/science-news-and-information-today/|title=Science News and Information Today|first1=Cary|last1=Funk|first2=Jeffrey|last2=Gottfried|first3=Amy|last3=Mitchell|date=20 September 2017|work=Pew Research Center's Journalism Project|access-date=2017-12-12}}</ref> This group of users "places both more importance and comparatively more trust on science news that comes to them through social media".<ref name=":8" />

Scientists have also used other social media platforms, including [[Software:Instagram|Instagram]] and [[Company:Reddit|Reddit]], to establish a connection with the public and discuss science.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jarreau |first1=Paige Brown |last2=Cancellare |first2=Imogene A. |last3=Carmichael |first3=Becky J. |last4=Porter |first4=Lance |last5=Toker |first5=Daniel |last6=Yammine |first6=Samantha Z. |date=10 May 2019 |title=Using selfies to challenge public stereotypes of scientists |journal=PLOS One |volume=14 |issue=5 |pages=e0216625 |pmid=31075155 |pmc=6510418 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0216625|bibcode=2019PLoSO..1416625J |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hara |first1=Noriko |last2=Abbazio |first2=Jessica |last3=Perkins |first3=Kathryn |date=15 May 2019 |title=An emerging form of public engagement with science: Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions on Reddit r/science |journal=PLOS One |volume=14 |issue=5 |pages=e0216789 |pmid=31091264 |pmc=6519800 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0216789|bibcode=2019PLoSO..1416789H |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Britton |first1=Ben |last2=Jackson |first2=Chris |last3=Wade |first3=Jessica |date=August 2019 |title=The reward and risk of social media for academics |journal=[[Chemistry:Nature Reviews Chemistry|Nature Reviews Chemistry]] |volume=3 |issue=8 |pages=459–461 |doi=10.1038/s41570-019-0121-3 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334544196|hdl=10044/1/71949 |s2cid=198137018 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

== The public understanding of science movement ==
[[File:Faraday Michael Christmas lecture detail.jpg|thumb|360x360px|Michael Faraday giving a Christmas Lecture at the Royal Institution (circa 1855)]]
"Public understanding of science", "public awareness of science" and "public engagement with science and technology" are all terms coined with a movement involving governments and societies in the late 20th century. During the late 19th century, science became a professional subject and influenced by governmental suggestions. Prior to this, public understanding of science was very low on the agenda. However, some well-known figures such as [[Biography:Michael Faraday|Michael Faraday]] ran lectures aimed at the non-expert public, his being the famous Christmas Lectures which began in 1825.

The 20th century saw groups founded on the basis they could position science in a broader cultural context and allow scientists to communicate their knowledge in a way that could reach and be understood by the general public. In the UK, ''The Bodmer Report'' (or ''The Public Understanding of Science'' as it is more formally known) published in 1985 by The Royal Society changed the way scientists communicated their work to the public. The report was designed to "review the nature and extent of the public understanding of science in the United Kingdom and its adequacy for an advanced democracy".<ref name="GregMiller" />{{rp|5–7}} Chaired by the geneticist Sir Walter Bodmer alongside famous scientists as well as broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, the report was evidenced by all of the major sectors concerned; scientists, politicians, journalists and industrialists but not the [[Social:Public|general public]].<ref name="GregMiller" />{{rp|5–7}} One of the main assumptions drawn from the report was everybody should have some grasp of science and this should be introduced from a young age by teachers who are suitably qualified in the subject area.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Short|first=Daniel|year=2013|title=The public understanding of science: 30 years of the Bodmer Report|journal=The School Science Review|volume=95|pages=39–43|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/255712425}}</ref> The report also asked for further media coverage of science including via newspapers and [[Engineering:Television|television]] which has ultimately led to the establishment of platforms such as the Vega Science Trust.

In both the UK and the {{wipe|United States}} following the Second World War, public views of scientists swayed from great praise to resentment. Therefore, the Bodmer Report highlighted concerns from the scientific community that their withdrawal from society was causing scientific research funding to be weak.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ipsos-mori.com/Assets/Docs/Polls/sri-pas-2011-main-report.pdf|title=Public Attitudes to Science 2011|last=Ipsos-MORI|access-date=27 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721050636/https://www.ipsos-mori.com/Assets/Docs/Polls/sri-pas-2011-main-report.pdf|archive-date=21 July 2015}}</ref> Bodmer promoted the communication of science to a wider more general public by expressing to British scientists that it was their responsibility to publicize their research.<ref name=":2" /> An upshot of the publication of the report was the creation of the Committee on the Public Understanding of Science (COPUS), a collaboration between the British Association for the Advancement of Science, the Royal Society and the Royal Institution. The engagement between these individual societies caused the necessity for a public understanding of science movement to be taken seriously. COPUS also awarded grants for specific outreach activities allowing the public understanding to come to the fore.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bodmer|first=Walter|date=20 September 2010|title=Public Understanding of Science: The BA, the Royal Society and COPUS|journal=Notes and Records of the Royal Society|volume=64|issue=Suppl 1|pages=S151–S161|doi=10.1098/rsnr.2010.0035|issn=0035-9149|doi-access=free}}</ref> Ultimately leading to a cultural shift in the way scientists publicized their work to the wider non-expert community.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199900/ldselect/ldsctech/38/3805.htm#n26|title=Science and Technology; Third Review|website=parliament.uk}}</ref> Although COPUS no longer exists within the UK the name has been adopted in the US by the Coalition on the Public Understanding of Science. An organization which is funded by the US National Academy of Sciences and the [[Organization:National Science Foundation|National Science Foundation]] and focuses on popular science projects such as science cafes, festivals, magazines and [[Citizen science|citizen science]] schemes.

In the European Union, public views on public-funded research and the role of governmental institutions in funding scientific activities were being questioned as the budget allocated was increasing.<ref>{{cite web |title=The impact of publicly funded research on innovation |url=http://www.eurosfaire.prd.fr/7pc/doc/1264491592_impact_public_research_innovation.pdf |website=Eurosfaire |access-date=11 July 2019}}</ref> Therefore, the European Commission encouraged strongly and later obligated research organizations to communicate about their research activities and results widely and to the general public. This is being done by integrating a communication plan into their research project that increases the public visibility of the project using an accessible language and adapted channels and materials.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Viallon |first1=Maxence |title=What makes a good communication, dissemination and exploitation plan of a research project? Part 1 – Communication |url=http://projects.leitat.org/what-makes-a-good-communication-dissemination-and-exploitation-plan-of-a-research-project-part-1-2/ |website=Leitat Projects' Blog |date=19 February 2019 |access-date=11 July 2019}}</ref>

==See also==
* ''Conversazione''
* [[Hype in science]]
* [[Biography:List of science communicators|List of science communicators]]
* Public awareness of science
* [[Science-to-business marketing]]

==Notes and references==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==

* Bauer, M & Bucchi, M (eds) (2007). ''Journalism, Science and Society'' (London & New York: Routledge).
* Bucchi, M & Trench, B (eds) (2014). ''Handbook of Public Communication of Science and Technology'' (2nd ed.) (London & New York: Routledge).
* Cartwright, JH & Baker, B (2005). ''Literature and Science: Social Impact and Interaction'' (Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO).
* Drake, JL et al. (eds) (2013). ''New Trends in Earth-Science Outreach and Engagement: The Nature of Communication'' (Cham, Switzerland: Springer).
* Fortenberry, RC (2018). ''Complete Science Communication: A Guide to Connecting with Scientists, Journalists and the Public'' (London: Royal Society of Chemistry).
* Gregory, J & Miller, S (1998). ''Science in Public: Communication, Culture and Credibility'' (New York: Plenum).
* Holliman, R et al. (eds) (2009). ''Investigating Science Communication in the Information Age: Implications for Public Engagement and Popular Media'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press).
* National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2016). ''[https://www.nap.edu/catalog/23674/communicating-science-effectively-a-research-agenda Communicating Science Effectively: A Research Agenda]'' (Washington, DC: The National Academies Press). {{doi|10.17226/23674}} {{open access}}
* Nelkin, D (1995). ''Selling Science: How the Press Covers Science & Technology'', 2nd edition (New York: WH Freeman).
* Wilson, A et al. (eds.) (1998). ''Handbook of Science Communication'' (Bristol; Philadelphia: Institute of Physics).

{{Navboxes
|list=
{{Communication studies}}
{{Science and technology studies}}
}}

[[Category:Information science]]
[[Category:Communication studies]]

{{Sourceattribution|Science communication}}