Seeing the elephant : development of a science communication engagement response scale

Scientists are being called to communicate with the public beyond simple interactions and knowledge transfer. Public engagement with science is now the main outreach method used to increase positive beliefs, favorable attitudes, and behaviors with science. Extant research has outlined key contributors of scientists’ willingness to engage with the public, but less is known about the quality of those engagement activities. Relevant theory is outlined in this dissertation through multiple research areas that complete the picture of science communication engagement response. This audience focused variable is then operationalized through scale development procedures that involve item creation, expert interviews, survey distribution, and item factorization. A one factor scale with 12 presents a wholistic engagement measure that demonstrates reliability, content validity, and construct validity. Discussion of intended uses for practitioners and future research follows.Advertisin

Microbiologists’ Public Engagement Views and Behaviors

In this study, we present results from an extensive survey of US-based microbiologists (adults) to explore these scientists’ perceptions and behaviors related to communicating their research. Specifically, we explored the frequency with which microbiologists engage in public communication, how they evaluate their public communication experiences, and the factors associated with their willingness to engage in face-to-face and online public communication in the future. Data from a multi-wave online survey suggest that microbiologists (N = 903) are somewhat frequent communicators who derive great value from their outreach efforts. The results further suggest that social and psychological drivers of future intentions to engage with the public are consistent with the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Specifically, microbiologists with more positive attitudes toward engagement were more willing to partake in direct and online communication activities. Similarly, microbiologists who believe they possess communication skills are more willing than their less efficacious colleagues to do either type of outreach. Our results also indicate that more-senior and more-active researchers are more willing to participate in direct and online engagement. Implications for communication training are discussed