9”x6” b3759   Science Communication, An Introduction

Chapter 1

Setting the Scene

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Anne M. Dijkstra, Liesbeth de Bakker, Frans van Dam,

and Eric A. Jensen
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1.1 Introduction
Science communication is at the heart of many of the 21st century’s most
consequential issues. From climate change to artificial intelligence and
biomedicine, science and technology are playing an important role in
people’s lives to an ever-greater extent. Science and technology are also
considered important drivers for enhancing innovation. Moreover, citizens’
role in engaging in democratic decisions about science and technology is
vital, as such developments affect all people. This important role of science
and technology leads to questions such as the following: How do people
make sense of scientific and technological developments? How can societal
needs and concerns be included when developing science and technology?
How should communication about science and technology be conducted?
Science communication practice and research is on the front line, helping
both scientists and citizens grapple with such questions.
Communicating about science and technology comes in many different
forms. Telling people about science is one important task. In addition, it
is widely accepted that people should be able to engage with science and
technology topics at a democratic level because science and technology affects
all our lives. Communications on science and technology have been ongoing
for a long time and have gained importance in recent years. Yet, science
communication as a profession and a field of study is still relatively young.
Historical events, societal changes, and other fields of practice and research

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have influenced the development of science communication. This book aims

to provide readers with an accessible starting point to get an overview and to
understand better what is known about science communication in practice
and in research.
This book evolved out of a Dutch introductory text to science
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communication for Dutch practitioners and students. In recognition that

science communication has become a worldwide practice and research field,
this book has aimed to increase its international scope and relevance. An
international review panel with well-respected colleagues from South Africa,
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China, and Mexico were asked for their guidance and input to extend the
book’s perspective. The book, hence, attempts to provide insights not only
from a Western perspective. Instead, it includes a broader set of findings,
principles, difficulties, and approaches that can flexibly be used to understand
science communication in different cultural contexts and situations.
This chapter sets the scene for engaging with science communication as a
topic. It provides important concepts, ideas, and developments in science
communication, which are presented within the context of a changing world,
to aid in understanding the chapters that follow.

1.2 Science Communication: An Evolving

Profession and Field of Study
Over the past few decades, especially since the 1980s, in many countries
around the world, science communication has grown into an increasingly
recognized profession and a field of study (see also Bucchi & Trench,
2016; Guenther & Joubert, 2017). Science communication always involves
connections between science, technology, and society about (an application
of ) this science and technology. A great diversity of participants may be
involved in this process, including scientists, policy-makers, activists, ordinary
citizens, and other groups. The science communication process is dynamic,
constantly changing, and driven by a variety of interpretations, views of
science, and communication goals.
Science communication is a term that is widely used and interpreted in
various ways. For this book, the editors have prepared a working definition of
science communication, based, among others, on the discussion about public

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Setting the Scene ♦ 3

engagement from the website of the UK National Coordinating Centre for

Public Engagement (2019):
Science communication describes the many ways in which the
process, outcomes, and implications of the sciences — broadly
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defined — can be shared or discussed with audiences. Science

communication involves interaction, with the goal of interpreting
scientific or technical developments or discussing issues with a
scientific or technical dimension.
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Approaches to science communication can range from an informative

program on television in which information is transmitted to an audience
(a so-called transmission-oriented activity) to dialogue sessions gathering
public input about their views which will be strongly based on interaction
between two involved parties (a so-called transaction-oriented activity). In
transmission-oriented activities, one-way communication is mainly involved,
while in transaction-oriented activities two-way communication is key.
Goals for science communication may vary and overlap. They range from
raising awareness and increasing appreciation for science and technology;
sharing findings and excitement and, thus, aiming for enjoyment for science
and technology; increasing non-scientists’ knowledge and understanding;
and influencing science-related opinions, views, and behavior or even
people’s policy preferences to engaging with others in order to include
their perspectives in decisions about science and technology. The need for
such a ‘listening’ approach in the last goal is particularly recognized with
controversial science and technology topics (see also the report of the National
Academy of Sciences, NAS, 2017).
In all science communication efforts and activities, science communicators
take different roles, related to their aims ( Jensen & Holliman, 2016). These
roles can play out in transmission-based as well as in transaction-based
approaches, or in anything in between. A journalist who writes a critical piece
in the newspaper may aim to influence opinions, a museum staff member who
develops activities for high school students may want to increase scientific
understanding, while a scientist who presents an enthusiastic story for a science
café public may be aiming for increasing knowledge and awareness. These are all
examples of people who communicate about science and technology. And they

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4 ♦ A. M. Dijkstra et al.

all take up different roles in the communication process, as an intermediary,

educator, facilitator, or expert. They are all practicing science communication.
In addition to the roles these science communication professionals play, there
is also a role for science communication researchers, that is, those who conduct
research on science communication. These researchers or scholars often aim
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to better understand science communication processes as well as the effects

of science communication.
As a field of study, science communication is heavily influenced by other
disciplines, as shown in Box 1.1, which means that science communication
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practitioners as well as researchers bring in a rich variety of knowledge, related

to their own backgrounds. The variety of communication approaches and roles
for communicators, as well as their different backgrounds, make the field of
science communication complex, challenging, and interesting.

Box 1.1:   Research disciplines and the field of science communication.

The field of science communication has been affected by several long-
standing academic domains, most importantly by communication sciences,
social studies of science and technology, (science) education sciences,
and the natural sciences (Mulder, Longnecker & Davis, 2008). Important
insights out of the academic domains of sociology and psychology feed
three of these four key domains, and for the sake of overview, the domain of
journalism and media studies is seen as a part of communication sciences.
Existing science communication courses taught at universities across
the world often combine knowledge from several academic disciplines
within their own curriculum along with the perspectives of practitioners
(see Figure 1.1). According to Mulder, Longnecker & Davis (2008),
knowledge from the natural sciences and the life sciences plays an
important role in the ‘translation’ of information. Communication theories
and communication skills provide a link between theory and practice.
Knowledge about learning and teaching is also important in successful
communication. This is especially the case in the area of informal learning.
And the field of science and technology studies contributes to science
communication through research into the interaction between science and
society, its advice to policy-makers, and the reflective questions it raises
about the nature and role of science and technology. Mulder, Longnecker
& Davis (2008) also recognized other key knowledge domains such as
sociology and psychology, and journalism and media studies.

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Setting the Scene ♦ 5

Box 1.1:  (Continued )

Science communicators can carry out their jobs informed by some of

the different knowledge domains. For example, a museum staff member may
use knowledge from the educational domain. A communication consultant
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at a hospital may use scientific knowledge about diseases and knowledge

from communication studies when designing communication processes.
Science domains that nourish science communication are themselves
also influenced by developments in the science communication field. For
example, natural scientists are becoming increasingly aware that scientific
and technological developments are closely tied to social developments,
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and, therefore, in many countries, communication skills are now part of

the expected competences for scientists (Gibbons, 1999). Over the past
few decades, it has become increasingly accepted that multiple groups
are involved in the complex relationship between science, technology, and
society and the development of science and technology.

Source: Based on Mulder, Longnecker & Davis (2008).

Figure 1.1:   Research disciplines influencing science communication.

1.3 Changing Views on Science Communication

Starting in the early 19th century, in 1825, the physicist Michael Faraday, a
member of the scientific society called the Royal Institution of Great Britain,
initiated the annual Christmas lectures in which scientists presented scientific
subjects to a general audience. These lectures continue to the present day
and reach a large, mainly young audience. The Christmas lectures have often
focused on the beneficial side of science and technology. However, critique of

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6 ♦ A. M. Dijkstra et al.

science and technology has grown, and nowadays, in many countries all over
the world, subjects such as climate change, biotechnology, and vaccination
are debated in the public domain. Informed and empowered citizens often
criticize or at least doubt whether the outcomes of science and technology
are set in stone.
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A few events can be identified as game-changers along the pathway to

increased democratic engagement with science. For one, Rachel Carson
published her book Silent Spring in 1962, in which she criticizes the use
of pesticides. In 1968, concerned scientists worried about the future of the
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world and founded the Club of Rome. They published the book Limits to
Growth a few years later. Environmental awareness awakened in certain parts
of the world. About a decade later, in 1979, nuclear energy was discredited
by a leaking nuclear power plant at Three Mile Island in the United States.
These — and similar — events, first of all, opened the eyes of many
science journalists. After the Second World War, science journalists often
acted as cheerleaders; they were positive and enthusiastic interpreters of
scientific and technological developments. In the 1960s, some gradually took
up a more critical role, that of watchdog. In this role, some science journalists
critically commented on developments (Rensberger, 2009). Informed by
the media, publics started expressing their doubts about some technological
developments. For example, citizens protested against nuclear energy in many
countries from the beginning of the 1980s.
Such a critical stance toward science and technology, however, is not
completely new. People have, for example, worried about the changes that
trains would bring along in the beginning of the 19th century. And, as early as
in 1663, the first cases were reported where workers destroyed textile machines
out of fear of the technology and its implications for their lives.
The increasing resistance toward subjects such as GM foods made
governments aware of the possible adverse economic consequences of
rejecting new technologies. Therefore, government and policy-makers
increasingly emphasized the importance of knowledge about science and
technology. More knowledge and education, it was assumed, should make
citizens adequately knowledgeable about science, scientifically literate, and
would lead to more appreciation of science and technology and its products

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(Bauer, Allum & Miller, 2007). It is this premise that defines the so-called
deficit model of science communication. In this model, the communication
process is defined as a one-way transmission (Nisbet & Scheufele, 2009),
where greater knowledge leads to greater support for science, technology,
and the institutional view of science.
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The assumption that providing scientific information will lead to a

positive appreciation of scientific and technological applications has turned
out to be inaccurate for some topics and categories of people. In certain cases,
studies have shown that people became more critical after receiving additional
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information. For example, this was found in public responses to genetically

modified crops during a period of high-profile public debate on the topic in
the UK (Marris et al., 2001).
Informing people better, and thus increasing the public’s scientific
understanding is not viewed as a sufficient aim by many in the contemporary
science communication field. Science communication is, or needs to be, more
nuanced than simply telling the facts or telling the facts better (Bauer et al.,
2007). Moreover, science and technology will always be understood within
their broader social context and, therefore, non-scientific factors play a role
in science communication. Scientific information can often be interpreted in
various ways (NAS, 2017), as is exemplified with knowledge about climate
change. Furthermore, communicating about science is often mediated by
others than scientists themselves, while people will judge information based
on other factors such as their trust in the source, their existing knowledge,
and their beliefs and values (NAS, 2017). Moreover, experts and citizens often
perceive risks and benefits of science and technology differently.
In the early 1990s, social scientists argued for more openness and
dialogue in the relationship between science, technology, and society with
increased success in gaining interest in this perspective from policy-makers
and scientific institutions in Europe. Dialogue and participation were
considered a new approach aimed at restoring trust in science and technology
(Bauer, Allum & Miller, 2007; Sturgis & Allum, 2004; Wilsdon & Willis,
2004). Public debates, organized in various European countries, tried to
bring into practice such an open dialogue. For example, in the Netherlands,
in the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s at least five public debates

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8 ♦ A. M. Dijkstra et al.

about topics such as cloning (Dolly, the sheep), genetically modified food,
and biotechnology were organized. The interactions between science and
society, however, were not always implemented as intended by the social
scientists who advocated this approach. Some of these dialogues were rather
premeditated discussions where experts decided what to talk about and with
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whom. In turn, citizens did not always accept these public dialogue exercises
and the desired high numbers of active participation in these debates were
often not achieved (Dijkstra, 2008).
Since this initial burst of enthusiasm for public dialogue with science
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in Europe, initiatives that explicitly take public perspectives and values into
account have continued to develop and gained ground in institutional and
government policies in many countries. Accordingly, language within policy
documents and funding schemes in many countries and at the European level
moved from public awareness of science to citizen engagement and from science
and society to science in society (Irwin et al., 2018), or even society with and
for science (European Commission, 2019). Aided by new technology, such
as smartphones, citizens can now become data and knowledge producers
as well, and scale-up the existing science communication initiatives such as
citizen science, in which large groups of laypeople are involved in the process
of doing research, or in helping set research agendas.

1.4 Science Communication in an Increasingly

Changing and Global World
Science communication is always embedded in a wider social and cultural
context. When changes occur, either at a local or global level, in the ways
in which people communicate, learn and grow, and live together, then
all these small changes are bound to impact science communication and
shape it as a field of practice and scholarship. Hence, the call to understand
science communication within the system it operates (NAS, 2017). This
section provides an overview of important global developments for science
communication which relate, first, to the content of science communication,
thus science and technology information and knowledge; second, to the
people involved in science communication; and, finally, to the communication
means and approaches used.

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1.4.1 The Content

Over the past few decades, huge changes have taken place in science and
technology, including increased specialization and interdisciplinary working
(Agar, 2012). In some fields, science has rapidly become a team effort. An
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extreme example concerns the publishing of research articles, with 1,000 or

more contributions that are becoming more common in the field of particle
physics (Mallapaty, 2018). In some countries, the focus in science and
technology research gradually is shifting away from fundamental to more
applied research. Economic exploitation of knowledge is promoted, and
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relevance of research for society is stressed. As a consequence, ethical and social

aspects of new research fields become study objects as well. Partners other than
researchers with their academic knowledge are asked to join projects in some
contexts. Professionals and practitioners, for instance, nurses and farmers,
can contribute with their professional knowledge. Members of the general
public, sometimes called laypeople, can provide insights by sharing their local,
experiential knowledge, for instance, their experiences as a patient or as an
amateur geologist (Wynne, 1989). An increasing number of communication
activities facilitate the participation of both scientists and layexperts as equal
partners (Davies et al., 2009).
Science and technology research is increasingly seen as a way to find
solutions to the huge and complex problems that societies worldwide face.
A large, complex problem with potentially far- reaching consequences is
climate change. It is related to issues like feeding the world, resource depletion,
and biodiversity. Innovative and sustainable solutions are called for, requiring
the input of many different actors: scientists, professionals, and laypeople.
This presents a huge challenge for science communication: how to motivate
everybody to do the right thing; how to inform everybody effectively; how
best to teach them the required skills; and how to engage with them? This
may call for more elaborate and more specified communication approaches.
An aspect related very closely to science and technology is risk. Risk
has become a more visible issue in recent decades. It plays an important role
in heated debates, for instance, about genetically modified food, Universal
Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) radiation, and climate change.
According to sociologist Beck (1992), scientific risks play a crucial role in how

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10 ♦ A. M. Dijkstra et al.

contemporary society operates. He argued that the world is in a risk society

phase, defined by the hazards that people live with each day such as nuclear
weapons and climate change that were created by technological developments.
More than before, people and institutions are aware of the risks facing them
and demand that governments and industry take action. The credibility
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and expertise of scientists and technologists are essential for evaluating and
understanding these risks.

1.4.2 The People

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A very important societal change with widespread effect is that the nature
of global economic activity has shifted toward greater technological
development, thus increasing the global need for education and technical
skills. Rates of education have increased globally. In Western countries, more
people are gaining an academic education than ever before, while in developing
countries more people are receiving basic education than before (UNESCO
Report on Education, 2017).
The 21st century economy in the most advanced economies is increasingly
based on digital and other non-physical goods and services and to a lesser
extent on traditional physical products. This has necessitated a more educated
workforce, and the proportion of university graduates has mushroomed in
recent years accordingly (International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis,
IIASA, 2014). In this context, formally recognized knowledge is key to
economic success. Lifelong learning to help the population keep its knowledge
up once they leave school is also important. In addition, technology and the
instant availability of information online make it increasingly feasible for
people to develop their own understanding of topics that were formerly the
preserve of experts. This includes self-diagnosis and home-based medical
diagnosis and patients taking increased responsibility for self-managing their
health care.
Furthermore, in the Western world the role of the democratic citizen
has increasingly been recognized in the context of science and technology
policy. Citizens have become involved and engaged into dialogue about new
developments, often science and technology related, that are about to take
place. In different ways around the world, there have been initiatives to align

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Setting the Scene ♦ 11

priorities in science and technology with needs and values in society. For
example, in the European Union, there has been an emphasis on developing
a responsible approach to research and innovation through social inclusion,
appropriate ethical consideration, public participation, open access, and other
good practices within science.1
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1.4.3 The Means

The Internet has greatly influenced science communication in the recent
decades. It has enormously increased the amount of information available.
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From scientific programs on YouTube to the ever-increasing emphasis on open-

access journal publishing, science information is at the fingertips of computer
and smartphone users. The Internet has also ‘democratized’ information about
science and technology by making it much more widely available and accessible
to everybody. Yet, as a consequence of this exponential growth of available
information, the focus in accessing knowledge has shifted from searching (just
seeking out information) to sifting (separating good from bad information).
In addition, Internet users need to learn how to work with new technology
and deal with the overload of information.
Also, the onset of social media and its proliferation, Facebook, YouTube,
Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram, and other applications, urge people to
prepare for a new communication era, that of online communication. This
not only brings new opportunities for democratic engagement with science
but also new challenges such as filter bubbles, where users are systematically
fed information that aligns with their existing views ( Jensen, 2011). New
skills have to be learned, such as distinguishing real news from fake news.
Such analytical skills are necessary to survive online. Some may even want to
develop skills to become online information providers.

1.5 This Book

The complex changing relationship between science, technology, and society
has caused science communication to develop as a field, from predominantly

1
For example, www.rri-tools.eu/about-rri.

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12 ♦ A. M. Dijkstra et al.

transmission-based activities to a mix of different approaches, which also

include more transaction-based activities, such as a public dialogue about
nanotechnology. In addition, the science communication field is affected
by broad global developments such as science and technology becoming
more specialized and tackling more complex problems, the drive toward
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higher education levels and democratization of societies, and the advent

of the Internet and new communication tools such as social media. No
standard approach exists for organizing science communication activities.
Science communicators must design an approach that best fits the situation,
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the message, and the people involved. More in-depth insight into science
communication processes and products will help both researchers as well as
practitioners to undertake science communication activities more effectively.
As the science–society relationship is so complex, the chapters in this
book address a variety of topics in an effort to enhance insights in science
communication practice, research, and theory. The first four chapters
introduce the field of science communication, while Chapters 5–9 provide
insights into subdisciplines of science communication. These subdisciplines
are by no means exhaustive but represent important fields of practice in
science communication: informal science education, science journalism, risk
communication, health communication, and environmental communication.
The final chapter introduces research in science communication.
After this introductory chapter, which sets the scene, Chapter 2 sheds
light on the core content of science communication: science itself. It presents
different views of science which provide a basis for reflection on how science
is constructed; its dependency on social, cultural, and economic contexts;
and how such contexts influence the image of science portrayed by science
communicators. The authors end the chapter with provocative questions that
serve as a guide for this analysis.
Chapters 3 and 4 show how the field of science communication
has become more complex in order to cover a wide range of motives to
communicate about science with non-experts, with an increasing number
of issues that must be addressed, the need for different models and
strategies, new social responsibilities for science communicators, and new
ways of relating with different sectors of society. The chapters address the

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Setting the Scene ♦ 13

actors or stakeholders in science communication. The discussions in these

chapters offer a starting point for considering how to approach science
communication.
Chapter 5 gives the reader an introduction to the field of informal science
education, a field that is closely aligned with, and often overlaps with, science
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communication. People have the need to incorporate information, knowledge,

and skills which are closely connected to science and technology. This has
increased the demand for programs, activities, and settings for informal
education as part of society’s offer of lifelong learning opportunities.
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Chapter 6 deals with the rapidly changing field of science journalism,

its challenges, and its implications for science communication. This
subdiscipline is most intensely influenced by the onset of Internet and the
development of online communication and social media. In particular,
these developments are relevant for the role of journalists and the framing
of scientific information.
Chapters 7, 8, and 9 present three different contemporary subdisciplines
of science communication: risk, health, and environmental communication,
respectively. Even though the chapters deal with different content, they share a
general approach in that much of the communication efforts in these domains
are targeted toward attitudinal or behavioral change, be it focused on health,
benefits and risks, or environmental sustainability. The communication
strategies proposed in these three chapters — which are often related — are
most useful in the analysis of how science communication can provide people
with the necessary knowledge and tools to empower them. Authors in all
three chapters address these topics, often emphasizing the individual level of
communication.
Finally, Chapter 10 focuses on research and evaluation in science
communication and includes a case on communicating about pseudoscience.
As science communication becomes more and more professionalized, research
evidence is becoming increasingly important to underpin the best practices
in the field, while effective evaluation must be considered as a fundamental
ingredient of the creative process of science communication initiatives.
The chapter presents how research insights can help both researchers and
practitioners.

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14 ♦ A. M. Dijkstra et al.

This book is meant for professionals, students, and all those who look
for an introduction into the quickly developing practice and discipline of
science communication. By presenting a general overview of the science
communication field with more in-depth insights into several subdomains,
this book aims to provide an informative and enjoyable tour through the rich
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and varied field of science communication.

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