Can’t You All Just Get Along? Effects of Scientific Disagreement and Incivility on Attention to and Trust in Science

2021 ◽  
pp. 107554702110544
Author(s):  
Sedona Chinn ◽  
P. Sol Hart
Keyword(s):  
Science Communication ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
Scientific Methods ◽  
Science News ◽  
Scientific Disagreement

Disagreement and incivility are increasingly common in science communication. While previous work has explored effects on issue attitudes, it has not examined how disagreement and incivility in news coverage influence attention to and trust in science. In this study, we investigate how civil and uncivil disagreement about non-politicized issues affects attention to science news, evaluations of research, and scientific trust. Results reveal that disagreement and incivility can not only lead to less attention to and acceptance of particular science issues, but also broader mistrust of scientists and scientific methods.

How Changing Media Structures Are Affecting Science News Coverage

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike S. Schäfer
Keyword(s):  
Working Conditions ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Gene Editing ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Online Media ◽  
Science Journalism ◽  
Science News ◽  
Publishing Houses

Many citizens and decision-makers obtain information about science mainly, or even exclusively, from news and online media. Accordingly, social science has devoted considerable attention to the analysis of science news coverage. A review of this literature reveals a number of ongoing, substantial transformations: In line with the crisis of legacy media, the rise of online communication, and the extension of PR by many societal stakeholders, science communication is changing. Science journalism has come under pressure in publishing houses, and science journalists’ working conditions have worsened. The amount of science news coverage is stagnating, albeit after a rise that lasted several decades, and seems to navigate toward either a more controversial reporting about politicized issues such as gene editing or a less critical “churnalism” that is more strongly influenced by PR efforts than before. The implications of these changes for science communication and societal decisions regarding science communication are considered.

Science Communication Meets Consumer Relations: An Analysis of Twitter Use by 23andMe

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 244-264
Author(s):  
Nicole M. Lee ◽  
Alan Abitbol ◽  
Matthew S. VanDyke
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Genetic Testing ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Research Results ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Direct To Consumer ◽  
Science News ◽  
Genetic Science ◽  
Over Time

For-profit organizations play a considerable role in the dissemination of scientific research and information. In the case of direct-to-consumer genetic testing, this is important because how consumers learn about genetic science can influence health decisions and support for science. Through a content analysis of Twitter posts ( N = 1,000), this study examined how 23andMe balances traditional promotion, communicating product benefits, and sharing scientific research. Results indicated that about half of all posts share science news but sharing science has declined over time. Far fewer posts communicate about the products or their benefits, but these posts garner more retweets and replies.

The Mars Meteorite: A case study in controls on dissemination of science news

2000 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincent Kiernan
Keyword(s):  
American Association ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
Press Coverage ◽  
Science News ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Reports

Through interviews with participants and analysis of media reports, this paper reconstructs the preparations for the 1996 announcement of the discovery of evidence of fossilized life in a meteorite from Mars. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) attempted to manipulate the timing and manner of press coverage. Contrary to the stated rationale for embargoes on science news, premature disclosure of the paper in the media resulted in news coverage that was largely accurate.

Problem Areas in Science News Writing

1974 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 225-235
Author(s):  
Michael Ryan ◽  
James W. Tankard
Keyword(s):  
News Coverage ◽  
Science Writing ◽  
News Reporting ◽  
Science News ◽  
News Writing

Problem areas in science news coverage were identified as part of a survey of the accuracy of science news reporting in newspapers. Mail questionnaires and newspaper clippings were sent to the major sources cited in the articles. Common problem areas in science writing were identified by examining the comments scientists made on the questionnaires. Specifically, seven problem areas are discussed here: finding angles, writing leads, quoting accurately, using language correctly, interpreting technical conclusions properly, avoiding sensationalism, and using the words “cure” and “breakthrough.”

scholarly journals Competing and conflicting messages via online news media: Potential impacts of claims that the Great Barrier Reef is dying

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynne Eagle
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
News Media ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
Online News ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Theoretical Concepts ◽  
The Impact

Coverage of issues by news media is known to impact on both public perceptions and policy development aimed at addressing the featured issues. We examine the potential impact of news media coverage regarding the health and potential future of the World heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef, which is under multiple pressures, both natural and anthropogenic. We draw on the extant literature regarding the impact of news media coverage of other complex issues, linking to relevant, albeit limited theoretical concepts that have been applied to previous media studies. We find that media coverage is predominately sensationalized and negative, with the potential to reinforce perceptions that mitigation attempts will be ineffective and thus likely to inhibit future policy development. We discuss the need for a review of existing science communication models and strategies to reduce the knowledge-practice gap between scientists and policy makers, together with proactive strategies to counter negative news coverage.

Vijf grote uitdagingen in de wetenschapscommunicatie

2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-197
Author(s):  
Ionica Smeets
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Research Field ◽  
List Type ◽  
Communication Research ◽  
Press Releases ◽  
Third Mission ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Sciences And Humanities ◽  
Science News

Abstract Five major challenges in science communication This article gives an overview of five major challenges in the field of science communication – with a focus on the Dutch/Flemish situation and the role that communication scientists can play in tackling these challenges. The research field is fragmented and the balance between the practical and academic aspects of science communication can be improved. In policies there is a large emphasis on informing society, whilst science communication should also be a dialogue with society. Connecting with society is the third mission of universities, but reward systems for scientists who do this are rudimentary and should be improved. Incorrect science news is at least partly caused by universities sending out exaggerated press releases. Researchers should take responsibility for how their own universities communicate about their work. Social sciences and humanities are underrepresented both in science communication activities and science communication research and should be involved more.

Popular Representations of Race: The News Coverage of BiDil

2008 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 485-490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Caulfield ◽  
Simrat Harry
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
Media Representations ◽  
Popular Press ◽  
Social Categories ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Debates

The popular press plays an important role in science communication, both reflecting and shaping public attitudes about particular issues and technologies. It is a key source of health information and can help to frame public debates about science and health care controversies. Given this powerful role, there has long been a concern that media representations of genetics are overly simplistic and inappropriately deterministic in tone. If true, media representations may hurt collective deliberations about science issues and misinform the public regarding the relevance of genetics in a variety of contexts — including the relevance of genetics and biology to the existing social categories of “race.”

scholarly journals Teachable Moments in News Media—An Analysis of Audience Awareness, Enjoyment, Interest, Opinion Formation, and Understanding (AEIOU) toward Science

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (23) ◽  
pp. 10212
Author(s):  
Leon Yufeng Wu ◽  
Shannah Pinhsuan Wu ◽  
Chun-Yen Chang
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
News Media ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Opinion Formation ◽  
General Science ◽  
Teachable Moments ◽  
The Public ◽  
Science News ◽  
Audience Awareness ◽  
Science Educators

In light of the increased time spent by people on watching the news via social media, what might be the communication impacts if science education could help in producing science news media for the public? The present study compared the audience levels of awareness, enjoyment, interest, opinion formation, and understanding (AEIOU) toward science experimentally between two groups: the general science communication (GSC) group (i.e., participants with general daily science news digestion) and the science edu-communication (SEC) group (i.e., participants who watched science news videos produced jointly by science educators, scientists, and news media production teams). As a result, those in the SEC group showed significantly higher levels of “interest”, formed more scientific “opinions”, and had better “understanding” than the GSC participants. In terms of creating an “additional opportunity” to develop science news media sustainably for the public, the present study confirms more salient outcomes when science educators are involved in the production of science news media.

scholarly journals Prosodic Means of Speech Influence Realization: Auditory Analysis

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 225-233
Author(s):  
Марта Томахів
Keyword(s):  
Science Communication ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Scientific Methods ◽  
Video Lecture ◽  
Video Lectures ◽  
Analysis Methods ◽  
Auditory Analysis ◽  
Scholarly Discourse ◽  
Experimental Phonetics

The article offers the results of the experimental phonetics research on the role of intonation in speech influence realization in the video lecture as a main massive open online courses material. This methodology is elaborated according to the proven techniques in contemporary phonetics and combines the use of auditory analysis, methods of quantitative data and linguistic analysis, methods of semantic differential and questionnaire. The goal of the experiment was to prove the hypothesis about the role of prosodic organization and components of the tutors’ intonation in video lectures in better supporting students’ attention, capturing the interest to the subject, facilitating understanding, which help in realization of speech influence in scholarly discourse, thus making the communication and learning more efficient, productive and successful. As a result of the experiment, the intonation parameters used in the video lecture and contributory for students’ perception have been established. The paper gives brief insights into such notions as speech influence, scholarly discourse and an e-lecture as a genre of modern scholarly discourse. References Антошинцева М. А. Механизмы адаптации жанра научно-учебной лекции кэлектронной сфере коммуникации. [Електронний ресурс]. Режим доступу:www.cyberleninka.ru/article/n/mehanizmy-adaptatsii-zhanra-nauchno-uchebnoy-lektsiik-elektronnoy-sfere-kommunikatsiiAntoshyntseva, M. A. Mekhanizmy adaptatsii zhanra nauchno-uchebnoy lektsii kelektronnoy sfere kommunikatsii. [Mechanisms of scientific and academic discoursegenre adaptation to the electronic domain of communication]. Retrieved from:www.cyberleninka.ru/article/n/mehanizmy-adaptatsii-zhanra-nauchno-uchebnoy-lektsiik-elektronnoy-sfere-kommunikatsii Валігура О. Р. Фонетична інтерференція в англійському мовленні білінгвів:монографія. Тернопіль: Підручники і посібники, 2008.Valihura, O. R. (2008). Fonetychna Interferentsiia v Anhliiskomu Movlennia Bilinhviv.[Phonetical Interference in the English Speech of the Bilinguals]. Ternopil: Pidruchnykyi Posibnyky. Калита А. А. Энергетика речи: монография. К.: Кафедра, 2016.Kalyta, A. A. (2016). Energetika Rechi [Speech Energetics]. Kyiv: Kafedra. Калита А. А. Актуалізація емоційно-прагматичного потенціалу висловлення:монографія. Тернопіль: Підручники і посібники, 2007.Kalyta, A. A. (2007). Aktualizatsia Emotsiino-Prahmatychnoho Potentsialu Vyslovlennia.[Emotional and Pragmatic Potential of the Utterance Actualization]. Ternopil:Pidruchnyky i Posibnyky. Каспаринський О. Ф., Полянская Е. И. Видеолекция как жанр. [Електроннийресурс]. Режим доступу: https://istina.msu.ru/media/publications/articles/ 8e9/82a/3559014/29LINK_FOK13v07.pdfKasparinskyi, O. F., Polianskaia, E. I. Videolektsiia kak Zhanr. [Videolecture as aGenre]. Retrieved from: https://istina.msu.ru/media/publications/articles/8e9/т82a/3559014/29LINK_FOK13v07.pdf. Osgood, C. E., Suci, G. C. and Tannenbaum, P. H. (1957). The Measurement ofMeaning. Urbana, IL : University of Illinois Press. Падалка О. В. Просодика комунікативного членування промов сучаснихполітичних діячів Німеччини (експериментально-фонетичне дослідження):дисертація кандидата філологічних наук: 10.02.04 / Ольга Володимирівна Падалка.Київ: КНЛУ, 2015.Padalka, O. V. (2015). Prosodyka Komunikatyvnoho Chlenuvannia Promov SuchasnykhPolitychnukh Diiachiv Nimechchyny (Eksperymentalno-Fonetychne Doslidzhennia).Ph.D. dissertation [Prosody of the Communicative Segmentation of Speech ofContemporary German Politicians (Experimental Phonetics Research)]. Kyiv: KyivNational Linguistic University. Peer, W. Van, Hakemulder, F., Syngier, S. (2012). Scientific Methods for theHumanities. (Linguistic Approaches to Literature). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Рубчак О. Б. Просодична організація англомовних інтерв’ю (експериментальнофонетичне дослідження): Дис. ... канд. філол. наук: 10.02.04. Київ: КНЛУ, 2015.Rubchak, O. B. (2015). Prosodychna Organizatsiia Anhlomovnykh Interviu(Eksperymentalno-Fonetychne Doslidzhennia). Ph.D. dissertation [Prosodic Structure ofthe English Interviews (Experimental Phonetics Research)]. Kyiv: Kyiv NationalLinguistic University. Седов К. Ф. Нейропсихолингвистика. Москва: Лабиринт, 2007.Sedov, K. F. (2007). Neiropsikholingvistika. [Neuropsycholinguistics]. Moscow:Labirint. Селіванова О. О. Мовленнєвий вплив у комунікативній взаємодії //Психолінгвістика. 2012. № 10. С. 223–229.Selivanova, O. (2012). Movlennievyi Vplyv u Komunikatyvnii Vzaiemodii.Psykholinhvistyka, 10, 223–229. Demetriadis, S., Pombortsis, A. E-Lectures for Flexible Learning: a Study on theirLearning Efficiency. Retrieved from: http://www.ifets.info/journals/10_2/13.pdf Tomakhiv, M. (2016). E-Lecture as a new genre of scholarly discourse. Science andEducation a New Dimension. Philology, IV (23), 100, 80–83. Trench Brian. Internet − turning science communication inside‐out? Retrieved from:http://doras.dcu.ie/14807/1/internet_science_communication.pdf

scholarly journals Information-Analysis Services based on Scientific News in the Academy Research Libraries

2019 ◽  
Vol 68 (5) ◽  
pp. 475-483
Author(s):  
Inna G. Yudina ◽  
Elena A. Bazyleva
Keyword(s):  
Science Communication ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Online News ◽  
Information Support ◽  
Research Institutions ◽  
Information Analysis ◽  
Scientific Center ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Communication Environment ◽  
Science News

In the context of the development of modern information and communication environment, the top challenge of library institutions is to renew their activities and fill it with new functionalities. As science communications advance in accordance with the general evolution of the web sphere, the organization systems of information support for scientific research therefore undergo changes too. Scientific and academic libraries with their unique position in science communications are faced with the need to rethink their role and functions, with the problem of finding new ways of information and library support to research activities, and new services that meet the needs of modern scientists. Since one of the indicators for scientific institutions reporting is the number of institution references in the media, scientific libraries have begun to provide science news services. The authors consider the news information resources and services for scientific research institutions. The paper presents a brief description of news aggregator “Siberian Science News”, an information platform for distribution, storage and browsing of factual, bibliographic and full-text data. Based on this platform, staff members of the Branch of the State Public Scientific-Technological Library of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SB RAS) have set up a service to provide specialists with information to maintain and update the online news feeds of the research institutions of the Novosibirsk Scientific Center of SB RAS. The authors note that currently, according to the preferences of subscribers, there are used two types of information-analysis reports based on media publications. The results of the conducted research allow the authors to conclude that there is a need for more active promotion of the resource “Siberian Science News” and the service for the maintenance of news information. In the case of the research institutions, the service maintains the development of their news pages and news feeds on the websites of organizations, which in turn makes the organizations more visible in science communication environment and promotes research areas and scientific results.

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