Scientists and journalists: framing the interaction

Abstract

"Humans have sent fellow beings into space, created cyberspace, determined the likely origins of our universe, and identified the genetic origins of ourselves. As members of a variety of broader, general publics, each of us likely came to know about these scientific outcomes as the result of a journalist talking to a scientist, followed by the journalists' work reaching us through television, radio, a print medium, or the Web. Few members of the public are reported to understand much about science and scientists are portrayed as unable to communicate to the everyday person. The media, as the primary source of science information to the public are viewed as ineffective transmitters of scientific information. The fields of science communication and public understanding of science investigate how science is communicated to the public using surveys and questionnaires of scientists and journalists. While these methods garner valuable data, they generally do not allow for an in-depth view of the perceptions scientists and journalists have of each other. Using narrative inquiry and semi-structured conversational interviewing, governed by the theoretical perspective of social constructionism, this research project explores the perceptions of scientists and journalists of each other and on their respective roles in communicating science"--Leaf iii.