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69 publications found

Jan 27, 2025 Practice Insight

Scientists' views about relationship-based science communication strategies

by Nancy L. Staus, Julie Risien and Holly Cho

Scientists are increasingly expected to share their research with the public using learner-centered strategies that build trust, such as engaging in relationship-building activities. A growing number of science communication training programs have been developed to address this need but little is known about whether and how scientists value such programs. In this paper we examine scientists' experiences with the STEM Ambassadors Program (STEMAP), a science communication training program that aims to build relationships for open-minded exchange between scientists and the public. We discuss benefits and challenges for scientists when using the STEMAP model for public outreach.

Volume 24 • Issue 01 • 2025

Jan 20, 2025 Practice Insight

Co-creation in citizen science: sharing learnings and good practice from an indoor, airborne microplastics project

by Ana Margarida Sardo, Laura De Vito, Kirsty J. Pringle, Mark Hansen, Kathryn Lamb-Riddell, Sophie Laggan, Timothy Cox and Ben Williams

HOMEs was a citizen science exploratory project, aimed at investigating the presence of airborne microplastics in people's homes. Participants placed passive samplers in their homes, using low-cost microscopes to see and take pictures of their samples. The methods developed are promising, however there are a number of pitfalls to avoid and key considerations. This practice insight explores successful approaches and identifies barriers and limitations when embedding co-creation and participatory citizen science approaches to a research project. This piece focuses on the methods and engagement with participants, rather than on microplastics findings.

Volume 24 • Issue 01 • 2025

Jan 13, 2025 Practice Insight

Climate change is (NOT) funny: insights from a climate change comedy event

by James Riley and Alexander Hall

In recent years there has been an increasing call for new modes of climate change communication. These calls have gone beyond classic consensus-building and fact-sharing to addressing affective dimensions and meaning-making in relation to the climate crisis. In this article we reflect on a proof-of-concept climate change comedy project — “Climate Change is NOT Funny!”. Building on audience and performer insights, we reflect on the effectiveness and affective dimensions of comedy as a climate change communication method, as well as institutional and funding constraints on delivery. Finally, we introduce how we designed our project to go on making an impact beyond the grant's lifespan. By empowering professional comedians to embed new research-informed climate change material into their regular sets, we argue that our approach can amplify the reach of climate communication activities, and in turn provide new forums for individuals to engage with the most pressing aspects of the climate crisis.

Volume 24 • Issue 01 • 2025

Dec 16, 2024 Practice Insight

Harnessing multimodal and multilingual science communication to combat misinformation in a diverse country setting

by Kim Trollip, Michael Gastrow, Shandir Ramlagan and Yolande Shean

This practice insight explores how translation and multimedia formats, such as video and audio, can enhance science communication efforts to combat community-driven misinformation and build trust within communities. Focusing on a national HIV survey, it details strategies for countering misinformation spread via platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp, which falsely accused data collectors of criminal activity. The research team’s response included multilingual, multimodal digital communication and community engagement, demonstrating the effectiveness of this blended approach in restoring trust and dispelling misinformation in diverse social and linguistic settings.

Volume 23 • Issue 09 • 2024 • Special Issue: Public (dis)trust in science in digital media environments

Dec 02, 2024 Practice Insight

Potentialities of science comics for science communication: lessons from the classroom

by Cláudia Faria, Bianor Valente and Joana Torres

The aim of this pilot study was to understand how the use of science comics, centred on complex scientific knowledge, can promote students' engagement with science, in order to discuss its potentialities as a tool to communicate science for the general public. The qualitative study involved 175 students and 7 teachers. The results revealed that the use of comics significantly increases students' motivation and commitment to the learning tasks. All participants highlighted that the narrative nature of comics, with a mixture of text and images, offering a story to follow, contributed to their engagement with the scientific topic, regardless of their complexity.

Volume 23 • Issue 08 • 2024

Nov 06, 2024 Practice Insight

Talking genetic technologies and conservation: purposeful games as a tool to level the epistemic playing field

by Vicki Macknight, Marie McEntee and Fabien Medvecky

In New Zealand, the use of genetic technologies for environmental and conservation purposes is a highly contested issue yet genetic technologies, including RNAi and gene drives may offer technological advances for protecting New Zealand's vulnerable biodiversity. This context makes discussions on the use of gene technology for environmental purposes both challenging and necessary. Such discussions can be difficult, not simply because they are often contested, but also because people find the topic complicated, the language alien and overly scientific. This research, which sits at the intersection of science and publics, is part of a large national dialogue which aimed to better understand the public's thoughts and feelings around the use of genetic technologies for environmental or conservation purposes. To assist people to feel comfortable at the beginning of the dialogue sessions, we designed purposeful games before engaging in a facilitated conversation. These games are based on heritage games that most people are familiar with but altered to address several issues relevant to genetic technologies in an environmental context. This article provides an insight into how to design and use purposeful games to foster epistemic confidence in non-scientists. It acts as a helpful guide for others working in contested spaces where there is a need to effectively facilitate engagement of non-scientists in important science-society discussions.

Volume 23 • Issue 08 • 2024

Oct 21, 2024 Practice Insight

Strategic planning and evaluation for effective public engagement

by Xinnan Du, Karen Peterman, John Besley and Allison Black-Maier

Assessing the impact of public engagement with science (PES) programs has been a long-standing challenge due to the lack of explicit, audience-specific goals and a related lack of evaluation against goal-relevant outcomes. In this practice insight, we present the strategic planning and evaluation process for PES at KIPAC, detailing the steps of setting and assessing long-term behavioral goals, short-term objectives, and tactics. We provide examples to demonstrate the implementation of the strategic plan, and make recommendations for practitioners at the individual, program, and institutional levels to strategize, conduct, and sustain their PES efforts with intention.

Volume 23 • Issue 07 • 2024 • Special Issue: Communicating Discovery Science

Oct 21, 2024 Practice Insight

Enhancing public engagement and science communication through participatory astronomy: insights from the Surabaya Astronomy Club's star party model

by Muchammad Toyib, Gebrina Ayu Pramesti and Nuri Herachwati

This practice insight examines the Surabaya Astronomy Club (SAC) and its innovative approach to science communication and public engagement in Indonesia. Through organized star parties and community outreach, SAC leverages astronomy to foster public interest and enhance scientific literacy. The club's activities are deeply influenced by Indonesia's cultural and social context, emphasizing communal participation and integrating scientific phenomena with traditional and religious practices. Despite its successes, SAC faces challenges such as limited resources and the need for more systematic evaluation. Recommendations for improvement include expanding resource acquisition, adopting robust evaluation methodologies, enhancing inclusivity, and maintaining high-quality engagement. By partnering with governmental bodies and community organizations, SAC bridges the gap between scientific knowledge and public policy, demonstrating astronomy's relevance to societal issues and fostering a more informed and engaged public.

Volume 23 • Issue 07 • 2024 • Special Issue: Communicating Discovery Science

Oct 21, 2024 Practice Insight

Communicating the gravitational-wave discoveries of the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Collaboration

by Hannah Middleton, Christopher P. L. Berry, Nicolas Arnaud, David Blair, Jacqueline Bondell, Alice Bonino, Nicolas Bonne, Debarati Chatterjee, Sylvain Chaty, Storm Colloms, Lynn Cominsky, Livia Conti, Isabel Cordero-Carrión, Robert Coyne, Zoheyr Doctor, Andreas Freise, Aaron Geller, Anna C. Green, Jen Gupta, Daniel E. Holz, William Katzman, Jyoti Kaur, David Keitel, Joey Shapiro Key, Nutsinee Kijbunchoo, Carl Knox, Coleman Krawczyk, Ryan N. Lang, Shane L. Larson, Susanne Milde, Vincenzo Napolano, Chris North, Sascha Rieger, Giada Rossi, Hisaaki Shinkai, Aurore Simonnet and Andrew Spencer

The LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK) Collaboration has made breakthrough discoveries in gravitational-wave astronomy, a new field that provides a different means of observing our Universe. Gravitational-wave discoveries are possible thanks to the work of thousands of people from across the globe working together. In this article, we discuss the range of engagement activities used to communicate LVK gravitational-wave discoveries and the stories of the people behind the science, using the activities surrounding the release of the third Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog as a case study.

Volume 23 • Issue 07 • 2024 • Special Issue: Communicating Discovery Science

Oct 21, 2024 Practice Insight

Public perceptions of ocean science as insight into discovery science

by Shu-Min Janet Tsai, T.Y. Branch and Shawn Rowe

This article examines the complex relationship between humans and the ocean, focusing on public perceptions and the role of discovery in ocean science. For this, we use the term ‘discovery’ in two ways: publics ‘discovering’ ocean science and ‘discovery’ as the epistemic foundation of ocean science. Through textual analysis, we show how scientific discovery is intertwined with exploration in national-level ocean literacy policy documents. We then denote a practical and methodological distinction between discovery and basic science in ocean science. To link this back to ocean literacy, we employ Free-Choice Learning examples situated in the U.S. and Taiwan that adopt Personal Meaning Mapping to highlight how adolescents ‘discover’ the ocean and recognize the prevalence of discovery in ocean science. We conclude that although discovery is essential to ocean science, it is inseparable from a legacy of harm (i.e., exploitation, colonialism, and environmental degradation) which makes it — and other discovery sciences — an ongoing challenge to communicate.

Volume 23 • Issue 07 • 2024 • Special Issue: Communicating Discovery Science