Exploring Science Communication

Exploring Science Communication demonstrates how science and technology studies approaches can be explicitly integrated into effective, powerful science communication research. Through a range of case studies, from climate change and public parks to Facebook, museums, and media coverage, it helps you to understand and analyse the complex and diverse ways science and society relate in today’s knowledge intensive environments. Notable features include: A focus on showing how to bring academic STS theory into your own science communication research Coverage of a range of topics and case studies illustrating different analyses and approaches Speaks to disciplines across Media & Communication, Science & Technology Studies, Health Sciences, Environmental Sciences and related areas. With this book you will learn how science communication can be more than just about disseminating facts to the public, but actually generative, leading to new understanding, research, and practices.

This book provides an overview of the theory and practice of science communication. It deals with modes of informal communication such as science centres, television programs, and journalism and the research that informs practitioners about the effectiveness of their programs. It aims to meet the needs of those studying science communication and will form a readily accessible source of expertise for communicators.

From discussions of climate change to the latest arguments around stem cell research, science has never been more topical and relevant to our everyday lives. Yet its intricacies are often hard for the general public to grasp. The key challenge for scientists and science communicators is to explain these scientific ideas and engage different groups with current debates. This long-overdue book explores how to successfully communicate complex and sometimes controversial scientific issues. Investigating the practices behind a range of traditional media and more interactive approaches, the book looks at how professional communicators interact with and present science communication in all its guises. It explores the historical background of science communication and examines how science continues to be referred to and used throughout popular culture, the media, and museums. Practical chapters explain key methods and give tips on overcoming communication issues and problems, whilst introducing the reader to a theoretical understanding of science communication. Written and edited by pioneering and experienced professionals in the field, this is an essential text for students and practitioners learning how to effectively communicate science.

Table of contents Annette Leßmöllmann and Thomas Gloning Preface – V Annette Leßmöllmann and Thomas Gloning Introduction to the volume – XI I Perspectives of research on scholarly and science communication Gregor Betz and David Lanius 1 Philosophy of science for science communication in twenty-two questions – 3 Friederike Hendriks and Dorothe Kienhues 2 Science understanding between scientific literacy and trust: contributions from psychological and educational research – 29 Hans-Jürgen Bucher 3 The contribution of media studies to the understanding of science communication – 51 Mike S. Schäfer, Sabrina H. Kessler and Birte Fähnrich 4 Analyzing science communication through the lens of communication science: Reviewing the empirical evidence – 77 Hannah Schmid-Petri and Moritz Bürger 5 Modeling science communication: from linear to more complex models – 105 Gábor Á. Zemplén 6 The contribution of laboratory studies, science studies and Science and Technology Studies (STS) to the understanding of scientific communication – 123 Nina Janich 7 The contribution of linguistics and semiotics to the understanding of science communication – 143 Britt-Marie Schuster 8 The contribution of terminology research to the understanding of science communication – 167 Thorsten Pohl 9 The study of student academic writing – 187 II Text types, media, and practices of science communication Thomas Gloning 10 Epistemic genres – 209 Luc Pauwels 11 On the nature and role of visual representations in knowledge production and science communication – 235 Henning Lobin 12 The lecture and the presentation – rhetorics and technology – 257 Sylvia Jaworska 13 Spoken language in science and the humanities – 271 Gerd Fritz 14 Scholarly reviewing – 289 Gerd Fritz 15 Scientific controversies – 311 Thomas Gloning 16 Symbolic notation in scientific communication: a panorama – 335 Michel Serfati † 17 The rise of symbolic notation in scientific communication: the case of mathematics – 357 Benedetto Lepori and Sara Greco 18 Grant proposal writing as a dialogic process – 377 III Science, scientists, and the public Wolf-Andreas Liebert 19 Communicative strategies of popularization of science (including science exhibitions, museums, magazines) – 399 Sharon Dunwoody 20 Science journalism – 417 Holger Wormer 21 Teaching science journalism as a blueprint for future journalism education – 439 Charlotte Autzen and Emma Weitkamp 22 Science communication and public relations: beyond borders – 465 Philipp Schrögel and Christian Humm 23 Science communication, advising, and advocacy in public debates – 485 Philipp Niemann, Laura Bittner, Christiane Hauser and Philipp Schrögel 24 Forms of science presentations in public settings – 515 IV Historical perspectives on science communication Thomas Gloning 25 Historical perspectives on internal scientific communication – 547 Michael Prinz 26 Academic teaching: the lecture and the disputation in the history of erudition and science – 569 Monika Hanauska 27 Historical aspects of external science communication – 585 V Science communication: present and future Martina Franzen 28 Reconfigurations of science communication research in the digital age – 603 Peter Reuter and Andreas Brandtner 29 The library in a changing world of scientific communication – 625 Mareike König 30 Scholarly communication in social media – 639 Annette Leßmöllmann 31 Current trends and future visions of (research on) science communication – 657

Science communication is a rapidly expanding area and meaningful engagement between scientists and the public requires effective communication. Designed to help the novice scientist get started with science communication, this unique guide begins with a short history of science communication before discussing the design and delivery of an effective engagement event. Along with numerous case studies written by highly regarded international contributors, the book discusses how to approach face-to-face science communication and engagement activities with the public while providing tips to avoid potential pitfalls. This book has been written for scientists at all stages of their career, including undergraduates and postgraduates wishing to engage with effective science communication for the first time, or looking to develop their science communication portfolio.

From climate to vaccination, stem-cell research to evolution, scientific work is often the subject of public controversies in which scientists and science communicators find themselves enmeshed. Especially with such hot-button topics, science communication plays vital roles. Gathering together the work of a multidisciplinary, international collection of scholars, the editors of Ethics and Practice in Science Communication present an enlightening dialogue involving these communities, one that articulates the often differing objectives and ethical responsibilities communicators face in bringing a range of scientific knowledge to the wider world. In three sections—how ethics matters, professional practice, and case studies—contributors to this volume explore the many complex questions surrounding the communication of scientific results to nonscientists. Has the science been shared clearly and accurately? Have questions of risk, uncertainty, and appropriate representation been adequately addressed? And, most fundamentally, what is the purpose of communicating science to the public: Is it to inform and empower? Or to persuade—to influence behavior and policy? By inspiring scientists and science communicators alike to think more deeply about their work, this book reaffirms that the integrity of the communication of science is vital to a healthy relationship between science and society today.

This book offers a historical description of science communication and addresses the gaps in the literature with the correspondent counterproposals to address these issues to promote audiences' engagement with science. Denisse Vásquez-Guevara offers practical guidelines to develop and implement effective science communication. Contributors present several communication theories, research and participatory intervention methodologies, data collection, and facilitation tools contrasted with scientific evidence and case studies to illustrate how to carry out engaging initiatives that unite researchers and people around collaboration and interest in scientific research. Scholars of science communication, participatory-action research, and decolonial methodologies will find this book of particular interest.