Science communication: Where is the evidence

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Science communication Where is the evidence?

• A workshop led by Dr Carol Oliver, Australian
  Centre for Astrobiology, UNSW

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The evidence of the effectiveness of science
communication is about as strong as the evidence
linking rainmaking ceremonies to the occurrence
of rain
Sless and Shrensky, 2001
Scientists must learn to communicato to the
public and consider it their duty to do so. The
Royal Society should make improving the public
understanding of science one of its major
activities.
UK Bodmer Report, 1985
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Why is there no evidence of the effectiveness of
science communication?

• Moving goal posts in what we are trying to
  measure
• Funding measurement
• Do new and emerging technologies enable us to
  manage both of the above?

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Audiences Who are the public?

• Often thought of as an empty box
• Unless a specific group (eg teachers)
• The box can be filled with information
• Or be engaged in dialogue
• But it is more complex
• Personal world views
• Influenced by many domains
• Pre-existing knowledge
• Preconceptions of science
• Interested/disinterested in science
• May become very knowledgeable about a specific
  subject

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What does scientific literacy mean?

• No internationally agreed definition
• General consensus that it means content (basic
  terms and concepts) knowledge, process (practice
  of science/inquiry) knowledge, understanding the
  impact of science in society
• More recently the idea that scientific literacy
  comes down to understanding science as a way of
  thinking, and that has practical application in
  everyday life
• The Nature of Science is also a term with many
  interpretations
• Australian government using scientific
  capability but will likely suffer the same
  moving goal posts problem

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Scientific literacy adults

• In 1979 only 14 of Americans could give a
  minimally acceptable answer to the open-ended
  question What does it mean to study something
  scientifically?
• This is not significantly different from 12 in a
  1957 survey
• 1988 in the UK Durant, Evans and Thomas argued it
  was an abstract question with a prescriptive set
  of coding (theory/hypothesis/experiment/control/an
  alysis)
• 11 suggested experiment in response to the
  question while only 3 mentioned hypothesis
• With a concrete example the testing of a new
  drug more than half selected the technique
  using experiments to test a hypothesis
• But still the standard question today in
  measuring adult scientific literacy
• Australia does not measure adult scientific
  literacy

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Adult scientific literacy
What does it mean to study something
scientifically? UK 12 Europe 14 US
28 Australia 15 (note doubling of US figures
thought to be due to the introduction of
compulsory science at university Australian
figure derived from a pilot suty by Carol Oliver)
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Student v. adult scientific literacy the
dichotomy
Above The results when students are tested
against the adult measure of scientific literacy
using the open question What does it mean to
study something scientifically?
Above Program for International Student
Assessment scientific literacy results 2007
(Organisation of Economic Cooperation and
Development)
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Measuring Primary Connections A case study

• Longitudinal surveys and focus groups
• Significant difference in learning both in
  content and in process of science
• http//www.science.org.au/primaryconnections/irr-1
  5.pdf
• Issues Shamos showed in the mid-1990s that
  similar efforts in the US produced results, but
  they were forgotten when the student entered a
  content-intensive high school curriculum

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Mass media what does it really do for science
communication?
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Changing modes of communication

• One way communication
• Two way achieved on websites
• Multi-way achieved on Web 2.0
• Changing information exchange
• Audiences talk to each other

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Internet usage

• Example of seeking specific science information
  During the first year of the rovers on Mars there
  were nine billion hits on the website more than
  the number of hits on the entire NASA portal in
  the previous year
• Australia has the highest Internet uptake in the
  world at 79.4 (16.4m people) compared to 71.4
  for the US
• Web 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 technologies changing the
  playing field for effective science communication
  and the ability to at least obtain basic data to
  allow a better understanding of audience context
  and needs

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Note that these figures do not include under 18s
so Facebook usage in Australia is likely to be
much higher. Nevertheless the number of users
over that age of 18 represents one-fifth of the
population
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Charts Quantcast.com
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Search engine optimisation getting the audience
to come to you

• Google writes its algorithms for relevance,
  credibility, authority, and newness
• Google has 92 of the search engine market in
  Australia the highest of any country in the
  world
• Google measures by who links to you their
  credibility what do they say your site is about
• Social media already have credibility, so putting
  blogs into Web 2.0 automatically confers
  credibility eg Wordpress.com and Wikipedia (Web
  2.0 encyclopedia)
• Multimedia content (eg YouTube)
• Richard Dartt 0417 477 640 purerichness_at_gmail.com

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Where to go to get media data

• http//www.quantcast.com
• And to check your own website
• http//www.compete.com
• http//www.alexa.com

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Conclusions

• What audience are you targeting?
• What is the best way to reach them?
• Measure dont just evaluate
• Question any data that claim results
• Ways and means of tracking the results are
  becoming more transparent
• Pilot tested surveys and focus groups ideal for
  data on the effectiveness of science
  communication