Subtopic Science communication

The public sphere is one of the arenas in which scientific achievements and requirements meet societal expectations. In this arena, links between science and its societal environment are established. The field of public science communication is complex and is undergoing change. It is influenced by opposing communication models and objectives, by a multitude of individual and institutional actors, and by developments in the media system and new forms of science governance.

In this subtopic, we address the way in which science participates in public communication and how scientific knowledge is transformed when entering the public sphere. In addition, we are interested in the social impacts of public science communication and possible repercussions on science. To this end, three fields are studied with the focus in each case on the analysis of public communication about the neurosciences:

1. Interface of science and the media: The mass media play an especially important role in creating the public sphere. For this reason, we are studying the relationship between science and journalism in various areas of research, the publicity strategies used by scientific actors, scientists' perceptions of the media image of science, as well as the consequences for the research process.
2. Scientific evidence and uncertainty: The rational use of scientific findings for forming opinions and decision-making presupposes that uncertainty is taken into account. The portrayal of scientific results by journalists often masks this uncertainty. On the other hand, in some cases, doubt is cast on findings that are considered to be scientifically sound. We analyse how journalists' portrayals of scientific uncertainty and controversies come about.
3. Dialogical science communication: The dominance of journalistic science communication is no longer undisputed. There is a trend towards direct event-based science communication, along with the expectation that classic science journalism will become obsolete, being replaced by interactive media on the internet, such as blogs, wikis, and virtual social networks. We are interested in the potential and limits of these forms of dialogical communication, in which scientists and science press offices interact with interested lay people directly, without journalistic mediation.