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This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF, Grant AISL 14241214-421723. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.
AAAS Members Views about Science Communication Goals and Objectives In the context of …
Face-to-Face Communication Online Communication Mediated Communication
Strategy
Project goals and background
Survey Findings: Past behavior, Willingness, Goals, and Objectives
Implications and future research
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2
3
3
We must “supplement our studies and activities on the understanding of science by the public, with studies and activities on the understanding of the public by scientists.”
Lévy-Leblond, 1992
4
Our data …
AAAS members with Ph.D. and at a U.S. university(n = ~1050, 9% response rate)
Age: 61 (SE = .38)Male: 69%Field: • Biology-Medical Science: 53%• Physics/Astrology: 11%• Social Science: 10%• Geological Science: 7%• Engineering: 6%• Computer
Science/Mathematics: 5%
Funding: • NSF: 36%• NIH: 33%• NGO: 26%• Other federal: 24%• Industry: 19% • Other: 11%• DOD: 8%
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Science Public Engagement as “Planned Behavior”
Attitudes about engagement/engagement audiences
Descriptive and injunctive norms about engagement
Efficacy beliefs about engagement
Willingness to engage / Priorities for Engagement Engagement
• Past research has focused on predicting the engagement amount
• Current research is focused on predicting prioritization of specific engagement objectivesPrimary Research Question:
To what degree are attitudes, norms, and efficacy associated with views about engagement?
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Are AAAS members engaging?
Face-to-Face
Media
Direct
Online
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
34
45
58
59
13
19
14
5
30
25
19
14Never Once 2-5 times 6-11 times
About once a month Multiple times per month Once a week or more
“To start, about how often have you engaged with the public on science in the last year?”
n = ~1050
AAAS scientists are engaging, with F2F most common
Are AAAS members engaging?
Face-to-Face
Media
Direct
Online
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
34
45
58
59
13
19
14
5
30
25
19
14
Never Once 2-5 times 6-11 times About once a month Multiple times per month Once a week or more
“To start, about how often have you engaged with the public on science in the last year?”
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
18 43 27
Very negative Series2 Series3 Series4Series5 Series6 Very positive
“[H]ow negative or positive would you say your experience … was? (7-pt. scale)
M = 5.83, SE = .04
n = ~1050
8
Are AAAS members willing to engage?“Looking forward, how willing would you be to take part in the following types of engagement or outreach in the next 12 months?” (7-pt. scale)
Face-to-Face
Media
Direct
Online
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
17
21
18
14
28
24
24
13
36
28
27
15
Not at all willing Series2 Series3Series4 Series5 Series6Very willing
M = 5.64, SE = .05
M = 5.14, SE = .05
M = 5.26, SE = .05
M = 3.99, SE = .05
n = ~1050
AAAS scientists are willing to engage (online is least popular)
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Quantity vs. Quality?
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What SOCIETAL goals do AAAS scientists prioritize?“What are the most important or unimportant PERSONAL goals that scientists such as yourself should have when …” (Very Low/Very high Importance)?
Getting policy makers to use scientific evidence
Helping ensure our culture values science
Helping people use science to make better personal decisions
Obtaining adequate funding for scientific research
Getting more young people to choose scientific careers
Helping to diversify the STEM workforce
1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00
OnlineMediaFace-to-Face
Policy choice and culture of science highest priorities
n = ~1050
12
What SOCIETAL goals do AAAS scientists prioritize?“What are the most important or unimportant PERSONAL goals that scientists such as yourself should have when …” (7-pt. scale: Very Low-Very high Importance)?
Increasing the impact of research
Fulfilling a sense of duty to society
Personal enjoyment
Meeting other scientists
Obtaining research funding
1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00
OnlineMediaFace-to-Face
Increasing impact and sense of duty high priorities
n = ~1050
But “objectives” come first …
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What communication objectives do the scientists prioritize?“[W]hat are the most important or unimportant communication objectives that scientists such as yourself should have when taking part in _____? (Very Low/Very high Importance)?
Helping to inform people about scientific issues
Getting people interested or excited about science
Defending science from those who spread falsehoods
Showing that the scientific commu-nity cares about society's well-being
Demonstrating the scientific com-munity's openness and transparency
Showing that scientists share community values
Framing research implications ... in a way that resonates with their values
Hearing what others think about scientific issues
Showing the scientific community's expertise
1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00
OnlineMediaFace-to-Face
Traditional goals seen as most important
n = ~1050
How ethical are the objectives?“This objective is ethical.” (Attitude)(Strongly Disagree-Strongly Agree)
Defending science from those who spread falsehoods
Helping to inform people about scientific issues
Getting people interested or excited about science
Demonstrating the scientific community's openness and
transparencyShowing that the scientific com-munity cares about society's well-
beingHearing what others think about
scientific issues
Showing the scientific com-munity's expertise
Showing that scientists share community values
Framing research implications ... in a way that resonates with their
values
1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00
OnlineMediaFace-to-Face
Some concern about framing and identification
n = ~1050
What would my peers think?“Scientists who pursue this objective would be well regarded by their peers.” (Injunctive Norm) (Strongly Disagree-Strongly Agree)
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Defending science from those who spread falsehoods
Getting people interested or excited about science
Helping to inform people about scientific issues
Showing the scientific community's expertise
Showing that the scientific community cares about society's well-being
Demonstrating the scientific community's openness and transparency
Framing research implications ... in a way that resonates with their values
Showing that scientists share community values
Hearing what others think about scientific issues
1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00
OnlineMediaFace-to-Face
Most think other scientists expect priority on traditional goals
n = ~1050
What do my peers do?“My colleagues would put a high priority on this objective.” (Descriptive Norm) (Strongly Disagree-Strongly Agree)
Defending science from those who spread falsehoods
Helping to inform people about scientific issues
Getting people interested or excited about science
Showing the scientific community's expertise
Showing that the scientific community cares about society's well-being
Demonstrating the scientific community's openness and transparency
Framing research implications ... in a way that resonates with their values
Showing that scientists share community values
Hearing what others think about scientific issues
1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00
OnlineMediaFace-to-Face
Most think other scientists would put priority on traditional goals
n = ~1050
Could I accomplish this objective?“I have the skills needed to achieve this objective.” (Internal Efficacy) (Strongly Disagree-Strongly Agree)
Defending science from those who spread falsehoods
Helping to inform people about scientific issues
Showing that scientists share community values
Showing the scientific community's expertise
Hearing what others think about scientific issues
Demonstrating the scientific community's openness and transparency
Showing that the scientific community cares about society's well-being
Getting people interested or excited about science
Framing research implications ... in a way that resonates with their values
1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00
OnlineMediaFace-to-Face
Most scientists feel they have communication skills they need
n = ~1050
Is achieving this objective possible?“Achieving this objective is possible for a good communicator.” (External Efficacy) (Strongly Disagree-Strongly Agree)
Helping to inform people about scientific issues
Defending science from those who spread falsehoods
Showing that scientists share community values
Showing the scientific community's expertise
Getting people interested or excited about science
Hearing what others think about scientific issues
Demonstrating the scientific community's openness and transparency
Framing research implications ... in a way that resonates with their values
Showing that the scientific community cares about society's well-being
1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00
OnlineMediaFace-to-Face
More concern that some goals may not be achievable
n = ~1050
Have I thought about this before?“Prior to this survey, I had thought a lot about this potential engagement objective.” (Strongly Disagree-Strongly Agree)
Defending science from those who spread falsehoods
Helping to inform people about scientific issues
Hearing what others think about scientific issues
Showing the scientific community's expertise
Showing that scientists share community values
Demonstrating the scientific community's openness and transparency
Getting people interested or excited about science
Showing that the scientific community cares about society's well-being
Framing research implications ... in a way that resonates with their values
1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00
OnlineMediaFace-to-Face
Many of the objectives asked about were unfamiliar
n = ~1050
Modeling objectives …
n = ~1050
OLS Regression Models for Objective Importance(Standardized Betas)
Modeling objectives …
n = ~1050
Very Little happening with engagement mode, demographics, field, or funding
OLS Regression Models for Objective Importance(Standardized Betas)
Modeling objectives …
n = ~1050
OLS Regression Models for Objective Importance(Standardized Betas)
Ethical concerns, injunctive norms, external efficacy, and familiarity the most consistent predictors of communication objective prioritization
SummaryAAAS scientists …• … are willing to engage• … have positive experiences with engagement• … want to achieve social and
personal goals through engagementBut …• … most prioritize traditional communication
objectives (inform, defend, excite)• … prioritize potentially important strategic
communication objectives, a little less (e.g. showing values and listening)
Key Limitations: • One society analyzed (so far)• Low response rate (9%)• Hard to ask about goals/objectives
without suggesting goals/objectives• Hard to get scientists not to
prioritize every goal/objective
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF, Grant AISL 14241214-421723. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.
SummaryAAAS scientists …• … are willing to engage• … have positive experiences with engagement• … want to achieve social and
personal goals through engagementBut …• … most prioritize traditional communication
objectives (inform, defend, excite)• … prioritize potentially strategic communication
objectives, a little less (e.g. showing values and listening)
These are the objectives science communication scholars focus on …
Possible ImplicationsIf you want a scientist to prioritize an objective …• … make sure they know about it• … show that it’s ethical• … show that it’s valued by peers• … show that it works
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF, Grant AISL 14241214-421723. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.