Science writers: How they keep up

Abstract

This research examines how science communicators understand the fields that they write about. This thesis looks at how science communicators become aware of (or "learn about") the increasingly specialized subfields of science. The thesis also examines how science communicators educate themselves (or "keep up") with ongoing changes in the field. The study, which integrated a survey with 161 participants and five in-depth interviews, also uncovered the demographics of science communicators, as well as the pressures they face on-the-job. According to the study's results, there are no ineffective methods for learning about or keeping up with science, indicating that science communicators are using everything at their disposal to become aware of and remain educated about science. Another area looked at was a potential reflection of the relationship between scientists and communicators based on how easy/difficult