SSBC 1109: SCIENTIFIC

COMMUNICATION
Lecture1

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 Scientific communication

Before defining scientific communication, it is

important to define some other terms that will
help us understand the subject better.
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 1. Public
• Every person in society.
• Heterogeneous group (multifaceted and
unpredictable) each with own needs,
interests, attitudes and levels of knowledge
• Include:
i. Scientists in industry, the academic
community and in government
ii. Media: communicators broadcasting,
publishing, and the internet

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 1. Public cont….
iii. Decision-makers: policy makers, scientific
and learning institutions
iv. General public: everybody in the society.
Includes the first 3 groups plus other
categories such as school children and
charity workers, farmers, etc.
• The general public can be broadly categorized
into two groups.

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 1. Public cont….
Categories of the general public
i. Attentive public: the part that is already
interested in science and scientific activities
( well informed about science
ii. Interested public: interested in science but
not necessarily well informed about science
and technology

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 1. Public cont….
Other terms used to describe the general
public:
i. Lay public: non experts in a particular field
ii. Scientific community / practitioners :
people who are directly involved in some
aspect of the practice of science
• The public together with its customs, norms,
and social interactions constitute a society.

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 2. Participant
• These are members of the public who are
directly or indirectly involved in scientific
communication.
• Involvement can be:
i. Direct involvement
Could be in the form of visiting a science
center, attending science theatre, or writing a
letter to the editor of a newspaper on a
science-related matter

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 2. Participant cont…
ii. Indirect involvement
• Can be in terms of preparing the venue for a
scientific event, a sponsor and promoter of a
such events.
• Participants in a scientific events belong to
the general public. c

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 3. Outcomes and responses
Outcomes
This is the result of some action; usually, there
are responses to every action
Response
This is the action, feeling, movement, change
etc., elicited by stimulus or influence
• Studying outcomes and responses requires
skills from social sciences.

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 3. Outcomes and responses
cont….
With regards to scientific communication, it is
important to note:
i. Effective scientific communication may
result into long-term outcomes and
responses.
ii. Participants’ scientific knowledge may
change as they encounter other new
experiences and reorganize their thinking.
iii. Participants experiences may influence
their responses.
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 4. Science
• Is the systematic investigation into the natural
and social world
Examples of science: biology, chemistry,
physics, mathematics, statistics, engineering,
technology, medicine, sociology ….
• Scientist: a person who is studying or has
expert knowledge in science.
• Methodology used; observations,
experiments, testing.

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 4. Science
Importance of science
i. Develop new technologies
ii. Solve practical problems
iii. Make informed decisions (evidence based)
• Success and credibility of science is anchored
in the willingness of scientists to expose their
ideas and results (communication to the
general public).

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 4. Science
• Communicating to the general public means
that:
i. The methodology used should be clear so
that other can replicate the study
ii. The public can critique the work
iii. The scientist should be able abandon or
modify accepted conclusions when
confronted with more complete or reliable
experimental evidence.

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 5. Awareness
• The simple dictionary definition of awareness
is being “conscious, not ignorant” of
something
• This definition is sufficient for the moment

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 6. Understanding
• This is comprehension of both the meaning
and implications of some knowledge, action
or process.
• Understanding is based on appropriate
commonly accepted principles.
• In science, commonly accepted principles
would be science’s theories, laws, and
processes.
• Understanding is not a binary condition,
something that you either have or you don’t.
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 7. Communication
• This is the act of transferring information from
one place, person or group to another.
• Every communication involves (at least) one
sender, a message and a recipient.
• Communication can also be the practice of
producing and negotiating meanings.
• Communication usually takes place under
specific social, cultural and political conditions

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 8. Public Awareness of Science
• Means a set of positive attitudes toward
science (and technology).
• These positive attitudes are evidenced by a
series of skills and behavioral intentions.
(Gilbert, Stocklmayer, and Garnett 1999)

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 9. Public Understanding of
Science
• The are several definitions of public
understanding of science:
i. Understanding of science content, or
possessing substantive scientific knowledge.
ii. Understanding of the science process or
methods of enquiry.
iii. Understanding of science as a social
enterprise i.e. awareness of the impact of
science on individuals and society.

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 10.Scientific literacy
• Encompasses:
i. A vocabulary of basic scientific constructs
sufficient to read competing news stories in a
newspaper or magazine (content)
ii. An understanding of the process or nature of
scientific inquiry
iii. Some level of understanding of the impact of
science and technology on individuals and on
society.”

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 10. Scientific literacy cont…
• Scientific literacy helps citizens to:
i. Be interested in the world around them
ii. Understand the world around them
iii. Engage in the discourses about science
iv. Question scientific matters
v. Draw evidence-based conclusions i.e. make
informed decisions about the environment,
their own health and well-being.

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 Scientific communication
• This is use of appropriate skills, media,
activities, and dialogue to produce one or
more of the following personal responses to
science:
i. Awareness, including familiarity with new
aspects of science
ii. Enjoyment: appreciating science as
entertainment or art
iii.Interest: evidenced by voluntary involvement
with science or its communication
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Scientific communication cont….
iii. Opinions, the forming, reforming, or
confirming of science-related attitudes
iv. Understanding science, its content,
processes, and social factors
• These responses form the vowel (AEIOU)
analogy of communication.
• Scientific communication may involve science
practitioners, mediators and other members
of the general public, either peer-to-peer or
between groups.
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 Demystifying scientific
communication
i. Scientific communication will not always
cause an immediate increase in scientific
literacy.
• Some participants will experience an increased
interest in, or a change of attitude towards
science and this might lead to enhanced
scientific literacy. However, for some others, it
may take time before this interest develops.

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 Demystifying scientific
communication cont…
ii. Scientific communication is not solely for
the benefit of the lay-public.
• Science practitioners, mediators, scientific
businesses, politicians, decision makers and
members of the media may benefit from
scientific communication.
iii. It is not true that scientists are on top of the
mountain and the lay public at the bottom.
• Some scientists be experts in areas (top on
one or two mountains) but they will be at the
foot of other mountains
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 Importance of scientific
communication

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 Importance of scientific
communication
i. To stimulate awareness of, and positive
attitudes (or opinions) towards science.
ii. To stimulate public understanding of
science (its content, processes and
applications).
These two will lead to a scientific culture /
society that appreciates and supports science.
iii. Generating political support for science

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 Importance of scientific
communication cont…
iv. Collect citizens' input about
acceptable/worthwhile research aims and
applications of science.
v. Collect and make use of local knowledge.
vi. Enhance the democratic legitimacy of
funding, governance and application of
science or specific segments of science.
vii. Collaborate with colleagues.

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