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Public engagement with science—Origins, motives and impact in academic literature and science policy

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  • Peter Weingart
  • Marina Joubert
  • Karien Connoway

Abstract

‘Public engagement with science’ has become a ‘buzzword’ reflecting a concern about the widening gap between science and society and efforts to bridge this gap. This study is a comprehensive analysis of the development of the ‘engagement’ rhetoric in the pertinent academic literature on science communication and in science policy documents. By way of a content analysis of articles published in three leading science communication journals and a selection of science policy documents from the United Kingdom (UK), the United States of America (USA), the European Union (EU), and South Africa (SA), the variety of motives underlying this rhetoric, as well as the impact it has on science policies, are analyzed. The analysis of the science communication journals reveals an increasingly vague and inclusive definition of ‘engagement’ as well as of the ‘public’ being addressed, and a diverse range of motives driving the rhetoric. Similar observations can be made about the science policy documents. This study corroborates an earlier diagnosis that rhetoric is running ahead of practice and suggests that communication and engagement with clearly defined stakeholder groups about specific problems and the pertinent scientific knowledge will be a more successful manner of ‘engagement’.

Suggested Citation

  • Peter Weingart & Marina Joubert & Karien Connoway, 2021. "Public engagement with science—Origins, motives and impact in academic literature and science policy," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(7), pages 1-30, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0254201
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0254201
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    Cited by:

    1. Giffoni, Francesco & Florio, Massimo, 2023. "Public support of science: A contingent valuation study of citizens' attitudes about CERN with and without information about implicit taxes," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(1).
    2. McKee, Martin & Altmann, Danny & Costello, Anthony & Friston, Karl & Haque, Zubaida & Khunti, Kamlesh & Michie, Susan & Oni, Tolullah & Pagel, Christina & Pillay, Deenan & Reicher, Steve & Salisbury, , 2022. "Open science communication: The first year of the UK's Independent Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(3), pages 234-244.
    3. Bruce V. Lewenstein, 2022. "Is Citizen Science a Remedy for Inequality?," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 700(1), pages 183-194, March.
    4. Jean-Claude Baraka Munyaka & Jérôme Chenal & Pablo Txomin Harpo de Roulet & Anil Kumar Mandal & Uttam Pudasaini & Nixon Ouku Otieno, 2023. "Multi-Level Participatory GIS Framework to Assess Mobility Needs and Transport Barriers in Rural Areas: A Case Study of Rural Mumias East, a Sub-County of Kakamega, Kenya," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-19, June.

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