Abstract:

For members of the scientific community, there is a responsibility or need to disseminate the outcomes and accomplishments of their research; not only to make knowledge accessible to the public, but also to demonstrate the efficient use of public funds [1, 2]. To this end, scientific events, such as conferences and society meetings, serve as valuable resources for researchers. However, while such initiatives are prevalent within the scientific community, the language used by the general public, who lack scientific knowledge in the field, differs from that employed by their peers. This could pose a challenge for both novice and experienced researchers, as they must explain their work using minimal technical terminology [3, 4]. Consequently, researchers may develop a reluctance to engage in these activities due to the ratio of effort and time required versus the potential benefits. To address this issue, an exploratory study was conducted to identify the factors to which researchers attach the greatest importance when communicating with the public, as well as the reasons that may lead to the rejection of these activities. As part of this study, researchers and teachers who served as speakers at the "La noche europea de l@s investigador@s," an initiative organized as part of a European science communication project promoted since 2005 by the European Commission as part of the Marie Skÿodowska-Curie actions of the Horizon Europe program, were surveyed. The survey assessed fundamental aspects of science communication, such as the complexity of explaining scientific work using common language and the difficulty of capturing the public's attention, among other variables. The collected data underwent analysis using descriptive and trend statistics, alongside correlation studies.

References:
[1] J. C. Besley, A. Dudo, and S. Yuan, "Scientists’ views about communication objectives," Public Understanding of Science, vol. 27, no. 6, pp. 708-730, 2018, doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0963662517728478.
[2] A. S. D. Rajput and S. Sharma, "Importance of communicating science to the general public: an empirical study of top Indian scientists," Weather, vol. 78, no. 2, pp. 50-55, 2023, doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/wea.4214.
[3] S. S. Ho, J. Looi, and T. J. Goh, "Scientists as public communicators: Individual-and institutional-level motivations and barriers for public communication in Singapore," Asian Journal of Communication, vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 155-178, 2020, doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/01292986.2020.1748072.
[4] S. Yuan, J. C. Besley, and A. Dudo, "A comparison between scientists’ and communication scholars’ views about scientists’ public engagement activities," Public Understanding of Science, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 101-118, 2019, doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0963662518797002.

Keywords:

Scientific divulgation, Divulgation event, Researchers survey, Communication barriers.