scholarly journals A Relational Identity-Based Solution to Group Polarization: Can Priming Parental Identity Reduce the Partisan Gap in Attitudes Toward the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 43 (6) ◽  
pp. 687-718
Author(s):  
Chen Zeng
Keyword(s):  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Strategic Communication ◽  
Policy Support ◽  
Communication Research ◽  
Relational Identity ◽  
Partisan Polarization ◽  
Identity Based ◽  
Parental Identity ◽  
Beliefs And Attitudes

This study explores the influence of both group identity (e.g., partisan identity) and relational identity (e.g., parental identity) on beliefs and attitudes toward the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Results from a between-subject randomized survey experiment suggest that partisans are motivated to process factual information about COVID-19 through a partisan lens. However, priming parental identity can reduce partisan polarization over risk perceptions, policy support, and precautious behaviors. These findings demonstrate the need to incorporate relational identity into identity-based science communication research and offer a relational identity-based strategic communication solution to partisan gaps in responses to COVID-19.

scholarly journals Communicating science in organizational contexts: toward an “organizational turn” in science communication research

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 137-154
Author(s):  
Mike S. Schäfer ◽  
Birte Fähnrich
Keyword(s):  
Science Communication ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Strategic Communication ◽  
Communication Research ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Organizational Contexts ◽  
Organizational Settings ◽  
Research Fields ◽  
Scientific Organizations

PurposeResearch on science communication in organizational contexts is scarce – even though many cases can be found where organizations from science and beyond communicate about science-related issues, or where organizational contexts have an impact on the communication of individual scientists and scientific organizations. Therefore, it is time for an “organizational turn” in science communication research, and for more scholarly emphasis on the specific cases that science-related communication in, from and about organizations presents. Such an approximation would benefit both science communication research and analyses of strategic and organizational communication.Design/methodology/approachThis special issue of the “Journal of Communication Management” on “Communicating Science in Organizational Contexts” is a step in this direction: It compiles commentaries from leading scholars in the respective fields as well as research articles coming from various disciplines and conceptual as well as methodological paradigms. In the editorial, we assess overlaps between scholarship on science communication and strategic communication, respectively, based on a meta-analysis of journals in the field(s), develop a guiding heuristic for analyzing science communication in organizational settings, and introduce the contributions to the special issue.FindingsThe meta-analysis shows that overlaps between science communication research and scholarship on strategic communication are scarce. While organizations and their communication appear occasionally, and increasingly often, in science communication research, scholars of strategic communication only rarely analyze science communication.Research limitations/implicationsThe meta-analysis is limited to the publications of five scholarly journals over ten years. It still demonstrates the lack of research in the intersection of scholarship on science communication and strategic communication.Practical implicationsScientific organizations are rapidly extending and professionalizing their strategic communication, and an increasing number of organizations beyond science communicate on science or science-related issues. Understanding science communication in organizational settings, therefore, is crucial for practitioners in both areas.Originality/valueAnalyzing science communication in organizational settings is of increasing importance – yet few studies exist that have done it, and the respective research fields devote not much attention to one another. The special issue is a first foray into this new, intersectional field.

scholarly journals Brazilian science communication research: national and international contributions

2018 ◽  
Vol 90 (2 suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 2523-2542 ◽  
Author(s):  
GERMANA BARATA ◽  
GRAÇA CALDAS ◽  
TOSS GASCOIGNE
Keyword(s):  
Science Communication ◽  
Communication Research ◽  
Brazilian Science

scholarly journals Public Conceptions of Scientific Consensus

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew H. Slater ◽  
Joanna K. Huxster ◽  
Emily Scholfield
Keyword(s):  
Science Communication ◽  
Qualitative Interview ◽  
General Idea ◽  
Public Acceptance ◽  
Environment And Public Health ◽  
Communication Research ◽  
The Public ◽  
Scientific Consensus ◽  
Qualitative Interview Study ◽  
The Relationship

Despite decades of concerted efforts to communicate to the public on important scientific issues pertaining to the environment and public health, gaps between public acceptance and the scientific consensus on these issues remain stubborn. One strategy for dealing with this shortcoming has been to focus on the existence of the scientific consensus. Recent science communication research has added support to this general idea, though the interpretation of these studies and their generalizability remains a matter of contention. In this paper, we describe results of a large qualitative interview study on different models of scientific consensus and the relationship between such models and trust of science, finding that familiarity with scientific consensus is rarer than might be expected. These results suggest that consensus messaging strategies may not be effective.

scholarly journals A Systematic Map of Inclusion, Equity and Diversity in Science Communication Research: Do We Practice what We Preach?

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karina Judd ◽  
Merryn McKinnon
Keyword(s):  
Science Communication ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Communication Research ◽  
Systematic Map ◽  
Communication Practice ◽  
Societal Issues ◽  
Diversity And Inclusion

Effective engagement with diverse stakeholders, combating misinformation and encouraging wider participation in science is core to science communication practice, and comprises much of the current focus of research in the discipline. Global events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, have clearly shown that social inequalities also manifest within communication structures, including those of science communication. Practices which are inclusive of diverse audiences are key if we wish to engage diverse audiences in finding solutions to societal issues. Yet there is little available evidence to show which diverse, marginalised and/or excluded groups are being engaged within science communication, and via what means. This paper develops a systematic map of academic literature spanning 40 years to provide a preliminary evidence base of how diversity and inclusion within science communication research and practice is conceived and implemented. Although the discipline has shown an increased focus within the last 5 years, science communication must evolve further in order to develop a robust evidence base for understanding what constitutes inclusive science communication in both theory and practice.

scholarly journals Science, Values, and Science Communication: Competencies for Pushing Beyond the Deficit Model

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 378-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherry Seethaler ◽  
John H. Evans ◽  
Cathy Gere ◽  
Ramya M. Rajagopalan
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Effective Communication ◽  
Transmission Model ◽  
Knowledge Transmission ◽  
Communication Research ◽  
Deficit Model ◽  
Communication Competencies

The deficit (knowledge transmission) model of science communication is widespread and resistant to change, highlighting the limited influence of science communication research on practice. We argue that scholar–practitioner partnerships are key to operationalizing science communication scholarship. To demonstrate, we present a transformative product of one such partnership: a set of ethics and values competencies to foster effective communication with diverse audiences about scientific research and its implications. The 10 competencies, focused on acknowledging values, understanding complexities of decision making, strategies to deal with uncertainty, and diversifying expertise and authority, provide a guiding framework for re-envisioning science communication professional development.

Jargon as a barrier to effective science communication: Evidence from metacognition

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (7) ◽  
pp. 845-853 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivia M. Bullock ◽  
Daniel Colón Amill ◽  
Hillary C. Shulman ◽  
Graham N. Dixon
Keyword(s):  
Technology Adoption ◽  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
The Public ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Resistance To Persuasion ◽  
Effective Science ◽  
Scientific Technology

In this experiment ( N = 650), we examine the negative consequences of jargon on individuals’ perceptions of emerging scientific technology and aim to explain these effects. We find that the presence of jargon impairs people’s ability to process scientific information, and that this impairment leads to greater motivated resistance to persuasion, increased risk perceptions, and lower support for technology adoption. These findings suggest that the use of jargon undermines efforts to inform and persuade the public through the cognitive mechanism of metacognition.

scholarly journals An Evidence-Based Framework to Optimise Social Impact in Astronomy for Development

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (A29A) ◽  
pp. 385-389
Author(s):  
Eli Grant
Keyword(s):  
Science Communication ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Project Design ◽  
Development Projects ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Communication Research ◽  
Education Development ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Scientific Approach ◽  
Education Delivery

AbstractAstronomy for development projects conceive of development in very broad terms and seek to affect a wide range of social outcomes. The histories of education, development economics and science communication research indicate that positive social impacts are often difficult to achieve. Without a scientific approach, astronomy's potential as a tool for development may never be realised nor recognised. Evidence-informed project design increases the chances of a project's success and likely impact while reducing the risk of unintended negative outcomes. The IAU Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) Impact Cycle is presented here as a possible framework for integrating evaluation and evidence-based practice in global Astronomy outreach and education delivery. The suggested framework offers a way to gradually accumulate knowledge about which approaches are effective and which are not, enabling the astronomy community to gradually increase its social impact by building on its successes.

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