Two Interactive Roles Boost China's Science Popularization: The Investigation of Scientist and the Public

• In Event: Innovative Academic Infrastructures: Digitalization, Collaboration, and Experimentation - II

Abstract

Science popularization is as important as innovation and is even called one of the wings of innovation-driven development in China. Scientists and the public are two essential participants in scientific and technical information dissemination. This paper will focus on both scientists and the public from the perspective of time. On the one hand, this paper discusses three key issues of scientists: the changes in the way that scientists participate in the popularization of science, the participation rate of the scientists, and the main influencing factors for scientists to participate in science popularization. On the other hand, this paper analyzes the public demand for scientific and technical information and their attitude to scientists. This paper is based on a series of sampling investigations on scientists and the public from 2007 to 2017 in China. We have found that scientists play a more active role in science popularization, new media enhances the communication between the scientist and the public, and the interactive participation from both sides improves the performance of science popularization. This paper offers substantial evidence for the further study of related policy-making and practice.

Authors

• Shu Xue, Chinese Academy of Science and Technology for Development

• Guangxi He, Chinese Academy of Science and Technology for Development

• Wenxia Zhang, University of Wisconsin-Madison