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Jun 22, 2016 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

Apr 20, 2016 Editorial
From planning to motivations: citizen science comes to life

by Emma Weitkamp

This issue forms Part II of JCOM's collection of articles and essays exploring the field of citizen science. Here I introduce the articles in Part II, outlining how they contribute to our understanding of the ways that volunteers participate in citizen science projects, what motivates this participation and what learning arises as a result of participation.

Volume 15 • Issue 03 • 2016 • Special Issue: Citizen Science, Part II, 2016

Mar 17, 2016 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

Jan 21, 2016 Editorial
Can we understand citizen science?

by Bruce Lewenstein

Citizen science is one of the most dramatic developments in science communication in the last generation. But analyses of citizen science, of what it means for science and especially for science communication, have just begun to appear. Articles in this first of two special issues of JCOM address three intertwined concerns in this emerging field: The motivation of citizen science participants, the relationship of citizen science with education, and the implications of participation for creation of democratic engagement in science-linked issues. Ultimately these articles contribute to answering the core question: What does citizen science mean?

Volume 15 • Issue 01 • 2016 • Special Issue: Citizen Science, Part I, 2016

Dec 15, 2015 Editorial
Short training courses in science communication. Why? To whom? What?

by Paola Rodari and Emma Weitkamp

The design, delivery and evaluation of JCOM Masterclasses has given us the opportunity to reflect on the audiences, training needs and training schemes available to people working at different levels and in different contexts to communicate STEM subjects to a diverse variety of people. Although not always widely available, short courses in the communication of science have been offered in a number of countries around the world over the past few years. We felt it is now time to open a discussion on the rationale, the methods and the objectives of such training programmes.

Volume 14 • Issue 04 • 2015

Sep 29, 2015 Editorial
A question of (audience) reach

by Emma Weitkamp

Taking the International Science in Popular Culture conference as a starting point, this editorial considers audiences for cultural products, considering the size of audiences (from blockbuster films, to intimate science slams), their pre-existing (or lack of pre-existing) interest in the subject and what this might offer the field of science communication.

Volume 14 • Issue 03 • 2015

Jun 11, 2015 Editorial
Between ambition and evidence

by Emma Weitkamp

Measuring impact may be challenging, but does that mean we should accept a lack of ambition? Researchers in all fields are grappling with the challenge of how to measure impact (in many different contexts, which naturally leads to many different approaches), and so perhaps it is not surprising that the ‘impact culture’ is spreading to public engagement. But is the field rising to the challenge or should we think more broadly about how we demonstrate impact, perhaps freeing individual and smaller projects from the need to measure public impact and allowing them instead to focus on formative development? This editorial explores some of the issues in the field.

Volume 14 • Issue 02 • 2015

Mar 31, 2015 Editorial
Moving forward, looking back

by Emma Weitkamp and Paola Rodari

This issue sees the implementation of new designs for the JCOM website and articles and there are plans for further updates over the next year. In a recent survey, we have explored readers opinions of the journal with a view to introducing improvements. Your interests are diverse, which is not surprising for a field which ranges from books and print media, to museums and interactive technologies. We are also reviewing our peer review process to ensure that it meets the needs of our authors.

Volume 14 • Issue 01 • 2015

Dec 19, 2014 Editorial
Exploring serendipitous dialogue

by Emma Weitkamp

Over the past decades there has been an increasing recognition of the need to promote dialogue between science and society. Often this takes the form of formal processes, such as citizen’s juries, that are designed to allow the public to contribute their views on particular scientific research areas. But there are also many less formal mechanisms that promote a dialogue between science and society. This editorial considers science festivals and citizen science in this context and argues that we need a greater understanding of the potential impacts of these projects on the individuals involved, both scientists and the public.

Volume 13 • Issue 04 • 2014

Sep 22, 2014 Editorial
On the roles of scientists, press officers and journalists

by Emma Weitkamp

This issue of the Journal of Science Communication raises a number of questions about the ways that new scientific research emerges from research institutions and in particular the role played by scientists, press officers and journalists in this process. This is not to suggest that the public don't play an equally important role, and several articles in this issue raise questions about public engagement, but to explore the dynamics at play in one specific arena: that of news production. In this editorial I explore the increasing reliance of science journalists on public relations sources and consider what questions this raises for science communication.

Volume 13 • Issue 03 • 2014