Investigating Mediated Pubic Engagement with Science on the “Science” Subreddit: From the Participants’ Perspective

• In Event: Science Communication - I: Digital Media

Abstract

Traditionally, scientists have used various means to engage lay audiences, such as policy making, dialogue, and knowledge production (Einsiedel, 2014). Science cafés and science exhibits have been widely used, especially in Europe and Asia, for the purpose of creating dialogue (Nielsen, et al., 2015). More recently, scientists have been increasingly using social media to disseminate their research findings to both the general public and their colleagues (Cllins, Shiffman, & Rock, 2016). The public now can participate in framing scientific discoveries and opinions by editing science-related articles on popular websites like Wikipedia (Hara & Sanfilippo, 2017) and/or by assisting with the collection of data for citizen science projects (Crowston, et al., 2018). Brossard (2013) notes that the role of lay participation in online environments has changed the nature of science communication, creating new opportunities for two-way communication. This paper will investigate one such mediated Public Engagement with Science (mPES) taking place on Reddit, specifically, the sub-Reddit r/science, which had 18 million subscribers and frequent AMA (Ask Me Anything) threads hosted by scientists at the time of this investigation. During the course of 250 sessions, this study found that the average number of comments on r/science AMAs was 207 and the average number of participants was 123 per session. We conducted a survey among participants and measured their user engagement framework (O’Brien et al, 2018). The results shed light on an innovative form of mPES from the participants’ perspective, and provide implications for the process of democratization of scientific knowledge.


References:
Brossard, D. (2013). New media landscapes and the science information consumer. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science U S A, 110(3), 14096-14101.

Collins K, Shiffman D, Rock J (2016) How Are Scientists Using Social Media in the Workplace? PLoS ONE 11(10): e0162680. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0162680

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Einsiedel, E. F. (2014). Public and their participation in science and technology. In Routledge Handbook of Public Communication of Science and Technology by M. Bucchi & B. Trench (2nd ed.), pp. 125-139. New York: Routledge.

Hara, N., & Sanfilippo, M.R. (2017). Analysis of roles in engaging contentious online discussions in science. Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, 68(8), 1953-1966.

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O’Brien, H. L., Gairns, P., & Hall, M. (2018). A practical approach to measuring user engagement with the refined user engagement scale (UES) and new UES short form. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 112, 28-39.

Authors

• Noriko Hara, Indiana University

• Clinton Daniel McKay, Indiana University