Public relations in science

Borchelt, Rick; Nielsen, Kristian Hvidtfelt

doi:10.4324/9780203483794.ch5

Cited by 9 publications

(14 citation statements)

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“…Researcher 24 questions a role to present the “facts”, but also opportunities to do this before any research findings have been published or peer reviewed which could juxtapose facts with opinions. Prior research has introduced varying meanings of legitimization (Borchelt and Nielsen, 2014; Peters et al , 2008). In these results, legitimization of science also formed a reason for the growing expectations for transparency and dialogue with the public (Väliverronen, 2015).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The relationship between organizational strategies for public relations, communication professionals and researchers in practice has remained underexplored. This is despite the potential impact this will have on science communication as an enterprise (Borchelt and Nielsen, 2014; Watermeyer and Lewis, 2018). It is also unclear how “strategic” researchers are in their communications.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Scientific organizations have increased and professionalized their public relations (PR) efforts for a number of years (Peters et al , 2008), and the incorporation of corporate communication practices into academia is not without its challenges (Davies and Horst, 2016). In the scientific world, PR may be perceived as a “bag of tricks” to dupe potential customers or citizens according to Borchelt and Nielsen (2014), who portray PR as quite the opposite: it is the necessity for continuing the work of an organization through the development of meaningful relationships with the public. Furthermore, they argue that, at the societal level, “PR professionals can help their organizations understand what it means to be socially responsible and help contribute to the ethical behaviour and social commitment of the organization” (p. 66).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exploring the intersections: researchers and communication professionals' perspectives on the organizational role of science communication

Koivumäki

Wilkinson

2020

JCOM

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PurposeThis paper reports on research exploring the intersections between researchers and communication professionals' perspectives on the objectives, funders and organizational influences on their science communication practices.Design/methodology/approachExamining one context, the inter-organizational BCDC Energy Research project based at five different research organizations in Finland, this paper presents data from semi-structured interviews with 17 researchers and 15 communication professionals.FindingsThe results suggest that performance-based funding policies that drive the proliferation of large-scale research projects can create challenges. In particular, a challenge arises in generating a shared sense of identity and purpose amongst researchers and communication professionals. This may have unintended negative impacts on the quality and cohesiveness of the science communication which occurs.Research limitations/implicationsThe study was exploratory in nature and focuses on one organizational and institutional environment. Further research with a wider number of projects, as well as funders, would be conducive to a greater understanding of the issues involved.Practical implicationsOn a practical level, this research suggests that the creation of clearer communications awareness and guidance may be helpful in some large-scale projects, particularly involving broad numbers of organizations, individual researchers and funders.Originality/valueThis is one of the first studies examining the perspectives of both researchers and communication professionals working over one project, drawing together a range of different institutional and disciplinary perspectives. The results highlight the importance of the influences of funding on science communication aims, assumptions, cultures and structures. The article articulates the need for further research in this area.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exploring the intersections: researchers and communication professionals' perspectives on the organizational role of science communication

Koivumäki

Wilkinson

2020

JCOM

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“…Our findings indicate potential value in focusing COVID-19 vaccine engagement on the sociodemographic groups most susceptible to vaccine conspiracy beliefs, specifically people in Schleswig-Holstein and Brandenburg, people between 30-39 years of age, people with a Volksschule degree, and those with a migration background. Additionally, policies and (science) communication on the governmental and institutional level should aim to establish and maintain long-term, mutually beneficial relationships of trust with diverse publics (see e.g., Borchelt and Nielsen, 2014) to potentially inhibit the intake of misinformation leading to conspiracy beliefs and an adverse course of the pandemic.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Drives Belief in Vaccination Conspiracy Theories in Germany?

Jensen¹,

Pfleger²,

Herbig³

et al. 2021

Front. Commun.

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In the midst of a pandemic, the efficacy of official measures to mitigate the COVID-19 crisis largely depends on public attitudes towards them, where conspiracy beliefs represent potential threats to the efficacy of measures such as vaccination. Here, we present predictors and outcomes associated with a COVID-19 vaccination conspiracy belief. In a representative survey of Germany, sociodemographic predictors of this belief were found to include age, federal state, migration background and school leaving qualification. The study revealed correlations with trust in scientific and governmental information sources, respondents’ self-assessment of being informed about science, general conspiracy mindedness, the frequency of using Twitter and messaging apps, as well as willingness to voluntarily take the COVID-19 vaccine. Our results cohere with and build on the general literature on conspiracy mindedness and related factors. The findings provide an evidence base for more effective health and crisis communication in Germany and beyond.

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“…With the emergence of new media, particularly online media, capacities to communicate scientific findings beyond researchers, and to do so symmetrically, have dramatically expanded (Borchelt, 2008; Priest, 2016). In contrast to vertical approaches to information dissemination, online media, ranging from converted print publications to user-generated blog posts, make the horizontal transmission of information simpler (VanCour, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Community-Based Participatory Research in the News: A Qualitative Case Study of the Online Media Characterization of a French Health Study

Duarte

Cohen

Allen

2020

Science Communication

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Since online media can be key in the widespread, symmetrical dissemination of science, we performed a media content analysis of 44 online articles to assess coverage of a French community-based participatory research (CBPR) epidemiologic study. Most articles highlighted methodological rigor and the research topic’s salience to residents. Approximately half of the articles reported findings, with the remaining focusing on action steps. To our knowledge, this study is the first to explore how online media communicate CBPR, a novel approach in the French context, to the public. Though there were some gaps in the media’s portrayal, CBPR may facilitate online media uptake of findings. We provide recommendations for future research on this topic.

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Public relations in science

Cited by 9 publications

References 0 publications

Exploring the intersections: researchers and communication professionals' perspectives on the organizational role of science communication

Exploring the intersections: researchers and communication professionals' perspectives on the organizational role of science communication

What Drives Belief in Vaccination Conspiracy Theories in Germany?

Community-Based Participatory Research in the News: A Qualitative Case Study of the Online Media Characterization of a French Health Study

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