Ethics And Practice In Science Communication

From climate to vaccination, stem-cell research to evolution, scientific work is often the subject of public controversies in which scientists and science communicators find themselves enmeshed. Especially with such hot-button topics, science communication plays vital roles. Gathering together the work of a multidisciplinary, international collection of scholars, the editors of Ethics and Practice in Science Communication present an enlightening dialogue involving these communities, one that articulates the often differing objectives and ethical responsibilities communicators face in bringing a range of scientific knowledge to the wider world. In three sections—how ethics matters, professional practice, and case studies—contributors to this volume explore the many complex questions surrounding the communication of scientific results to nonscientists. Has the science been shared clearly and accurately? Have questions of risk, uncertainty, and appropriate representation been adequately addressed? And, most fundamentally, what is the purpose of communicating science to the public: Is it to inform and empower? Or to persuade—to influence behavior and policy? By inspiring scientists and science communicators alike to think more deeply about their work, this book reaffirms that the integrity of the communication of science is vital to a healthy relationship between science and society today.

This book presents the first comprehensive set of principles for an ethics of science communication. We all want to communicate science ethically, but how do we do so? What does being ethical when communicating science even mean? The authors argue that ethical reasoning is essential training for science communicators. The book provides an overview of the relationship between values, science, and communication. Ethical problems are examined to consider how to create an ethics of science communication. These issues range from the timing of communication, narratives, accuracy and persuasion, to funding and the client-public tension. The book offers a tailor-made ethics of science communication based on principlism. Case studies are used to demonstrate how this tailor-made ethics can be applied in practice.

This book addresses the roles and challenges of people who communicate science, who work with scientists, and who teach STEM majors how to write. In terms of practice and theory, chapters address themes encountered by scientists and communicators, including ethical challenges, visual displays, and communication with publics, as well as changed and changing contexts and genres. The pedagogy section covers topics important to instructors’ everyday teaching as well as longer-term curricular development. Chapters address delivery of rhetorically informed instruction, communication from experts to the publics, writing assessment, online teaching, and communication-intensive pedagogies and curricula. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.tandfebooks.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

Science and technology are embedded in virtually every aspect of modern life. As a result, people face an increasing need to integrate information from science with their personal values and other considerations as they make important life decisions about medical care, the safety of foods, what to do about climate change, and many other issues. Communicating science effectively, however, is a complex task and an acquired skill. Moreover, the approaches to communicating science that will be most effective for specific audiences and circumstances are not obvious. Fortunately, there is an expanding science base from diverse disciplines that can support science communicators in making these determinations. Communicating Science Effectively offers a research agenda for science communicators and researchers seeking to apply this research and fill gaps in knowledge about how to communicate effectively about science, focusing in particular on issues that are contentious in the public sphere. To inform this research agenda, this publication identifies important influences â€" psychological, economic, political, social, cultural, and media-related â€" on how science related to such issues is understood, perceived, and used.

This book provides an overview of the theory and practice of science communication. It deals with modes of informal communication such as science centres, television programs, and journalism and the research that informs practitioners about the effectiveness of their programs. It aims to meet the needs of those studying science communication and will form a readily accessible source of expertise for communicators.

On topics from genetic engineering and mad cow disease to vaccination and climate change, this Handbook draws on the insights of 57 leading science of science communication scholars who explore what social scientists know about how citizens come to understand and act on what is known by science.

Are you wishing you knew how to better communicate science, without having to read several hundred academic papers and books on the topic? Luckily Dr Craig Cormick has done this for you! This highly readable and entertaining book distils best practice research on science communication into accessible chapters, supported by case studies and examples. With practical advice on everything from messages and metaphors to metrics and ethics, you will learn what the public think about science and why, and how to shape scientific research into a story that will influence beliefs, behaviours and policies.

This book describes current practices in science communication, from citizen science to Twitter storms, and celebrates this diversity through case studies and examples. However, the authors also reflect on how scholars and practitioners can gain better insight into science communication through new analytical methods and perspectives. From science PR to the role of embodiment and materiality, some aspects of science communication have been under-studied. How can we better notice these? Science Communication provides a new synthesis for Science Communication Studies. It uses the historical literature of the field, new empirical data, and interdisciplinary thought to argue that the frames which are typically used to think about science communication often omit important features of how it is imagined and practised. It is essential reading for students, scholars, and practitioners of science education, science and technology studies, museum studies, and media and communication studies.

Science communication, as a multidisciplinary field, has developed remarkably in recent years. It is now a distinct and exceedingly dynamic science that melds theoretical approaches with practical experience. Formerly well-established theoretical models now seem out of step with the social reality of the sciences, and the previously clear-cut delineations and interacting domains between cultural fields have blurred. Communicating Science in Social Contexts examines that shift, which itself depicts a profound recomposition of knowledge fields, activities and dissemination practices, and the value accorded to science and technology. Communicating Science in Social Contexts is the product of long-term effort that would not have been possible without the research and expertise of the Public Communication of Science and Technology (PCST) Network and the editors. For nearly 20 years, this informal, international network has been organizing events and forums for discussion of the public communication of science.

A particularly important component of any research project is its ethical dimensions which can refer to varied categories of practice – from the protection of human subjects involved in medical and social research to the publication of results research. More recently, with the estimation of the possible consequences of the implementation of technology, it is important for today’s researchers to address the standards of scientific practice and avoid unethical behavior. Ethics in Research Practice and Innovation is an essential reference source that discusses current and historical aspects of ethical values in scientific research and technologies, as well as emerging perspectives of conducting ethical research in a variety of fields. Featuring research on topics such as clinical trials, human subjects, and informed consent, this book is ideally designed for practitioners, medical professionals, nurses, researchers, scientists, scholars, academicians, policy makers, and students seeking coverage on the ethical risks and limitations of research practice.