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• Date of publication May 03, 2017 Category: Article

  Science communication as a field of research: identifying trends, challenges and gaps by analysing research papers

  by Lars Guenther , Marina Joubert

  Research in the field of science communication started emerging about 50 years ago and has since then matured as a field of academic enquiry. Early findings about research-active authors and countries reveal that scholarly activity in the field has traditionally been dominated by male authors from English-speaking countries in the West. The current study is a systematic, bibliographic analysis of a full sample of research papers that were published in the three most prominent journals in the field from 1979 to 2016. The findings reveal that early inequities remain prevalent, but also that there are indications that recent increases in research outputs and trends in authorship patterns ― for example the growth in female authorship ― are beginning to correct some of these imbalances. Furthermore, the current study verifies earlier indications that science communication research is becoming increasingly institutionalised and internationalised, as demonstrated by an upward trend in papers reflecting cross-institutional collaboration and the diversity of countries where authors are based.

  Volume 16 • Issue 02 • 2017

• Date of publication Mar 28, 2017 Category: Editorial

  Considering the academy: academics, public intellectuals and activism

  by Emma Weitkamp

  Reflecting on the public role of academics, this issue of JCOM includes a set of commentaries exploring public intellectuals and intellectualism. The commentaries explore the role of academics in public debates, both as bringers of facts and passion. These pieces, together with past commentaries and letters to JCOM raise interesting questions about the role of academics in public debates that are, perhaps not those usually trodden in the academic literature.

  Volume 16 • Issue 01 • 2017

• Date of publication Mar 28, 2017 Category: Commentary

  Science communication and the public intellectual: a view from philosophy

  by Patrick Stokes

  While science communication has become increasingly professionalised, philosophers have been far less active in, and reflective about, how we talk to the public. In thinking about the relationship between the ‘public intellectual’ and science communication, however,  philosophy has some important contributions to make, despite the differences of content and disciplinary approach. What, then, can both these professions learn from each other about how to engage with the public - and the risks that this might involve?

  Volume 16 • Issue 01 • 2017

• Date of publication Nov 17, 2016 Category: Article

  Communicating science in English: a preliminary exploration into the professional self-perceptions of Australian scientists from language backgrounds other than English

  by Adam Huttner-Koros , Sean Perera

  Scientists for whom English is not their first language report disadvantages with academic communication internationally. This case study explores preliminary evidence from non-Anglophone scientists in an Australian research organisation, where English is the first language. While the authors identified similarities with previous research, they found that scientists from non-Anglophone language backgrounds are limited by more than their level of linguistic proficiency in English. Academic science communication may be underpinned by perceptions of identity that are defined by the Anglocentric hegemony in science, which dictates not only how academic science is communicated but also who can communicate it.

  Volume 15 • Issue 06 • 2016

• Date of publication Jul 20, 2016 Category: Book Review

  The new divide: how a scientist-gone-filmmaker thinks Hollywood can save science

  by Victoria Gant

  BOOK: Olson, R. (2015). Houston, we have a narrative: Why science needs story. Chicago, U.S.A.: University of Chicago Press

  Scientist-turned-filmmaker Randy Olson makes a bold claim: scientists cannot adequately explain their own work. He attributes all of the issues facing science communication today ― false positives, an uninterested public, and unapproved grant proposals ― to scientists' lack of narrative intuition. Rather than turn to the humanities for help, Olson suggests scientists learn from the true masters of storytelling ― Hollywood filmmakers. His latest book examines the age-old divide between science and the humanities, as well as the new adversarial relationship between science and film, which he says can save science.

  Volume 15 • Issue 05 • 2016

• Date of publication Jun 22, 2016 Category: Editorial

  Five years of JCOM ― inclusive, comprehensive or could we do better?

  by Emma Weitkamp

  Looking back over the past 5 years of articles published in JCOM, this editorial looks at the topics covered and the geographies represented and asks: are we tackling all main contemporary issues in science communication/popularisation or public engagement? It invites you to contribute with your papers, letters, essays and news to help address the holes in our coverage and to enter into dialogue on our Facebook page.

  Volume 15 • Issue 04 • 2016

• Date of publication Jun 09, 2016 Category: Article

  "We muddle our way through": shared and distributed expertise in digital engagement with research

  by Ann Grand , Richard Holliman , Trevor Collins , Anne Adams

  The use and availability of digital media is changing researchers' roles and simultaneously providing a route for a more engaging relationship with stakeholders throughout the research process. Although the digital realm has a profound influence on people's day-to-day lives, some researchers have not yet professionally embraced digital technologies. This paper arises from one aspect of a project exploring how university research and professional practices are evolving as researchers engage with stakeholders via digital media to create, share and represent knowledge together. Using researchers from the Open University (U.K.) as a case study, this paper reviews the extent to which they are developing multiple identities and functions in their engaged research through digital media.

  Volume 15 • Issue 04 • 2016

• Date of publication Mar 17, 2016 Category: Editorial

  Telling stories about our research

  by Emma Weitkamp

  The academic journal paper has been around for several hundred years and during that time has seen shifts in style and structure. This editorial explores the traditional research paper and considers whether thinking about the research paper as a story, provides insights into style and structure that would make research both more transparent and more readable.

  Volume 15 • Issue 02 • 2016

• Date of publication Feb 16, 2016 Category: Article

  The extent of engagement, the means of invention: measuring debate about mirror neurons in the humanities and social sciences

  by David Gruber

  Mirror neurons (MN) — or neurons said to be able to "mirror" the sensed environment — have been widely popularized and referenced across many academic fields. Yet, MNs have also been the subject of considerable debate in the neurosciences. Using a criterion based sampling method and a citation analysis, this paper examines the extent of engagement with the neuroscience literature about MNs, looking specifically at the frequency of "MN debate sources" within articles published in the JSTOR and Communication and Mass Media (CMMC) databases. After reporting the results, the paper reviews characteristic examples in context and, ultimately, shows that MN debates remain largely absent from peer-reviewed articles published in JSTOR and CMMC. However, the paper suggests that this happens for good reason and that MNs retain the potential for inventive animations even though debates have gone largely unrecognized.

  Volume 15 • Issue 02 • 2016

• Date of publication Dec 15, 2015 Category: Commentary

  Preprints and peer review: a lesson from physics

  by Alessandro Delfanti

  For decades, particle physicists have been using open access archives of preprints, i.e. research papers shared before the submission to peer reviewed journals. With the shift to digital archives, this model has proved to be attractive to other disciplines: but can it be exported? In particle physics, archives do not only represent the medium of choice for the circulation of scientific knowledge, but they are central places to build a sense of belonging and to define one's role within the community.

  Volume 14 • Issue 04 • 2015