Terra incognita – shedding light on the public’s views of humanities research

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Terra incognita – shedding light on the public’s views of humanities research

Author: Fredrik Brouneus – VA (Public & Science), Sweden, Sweden

Co-authors:

  • Martin Bergman – VA (Public & Science), Sweden
  • Gustav Bohlin – VA (Public & Science), Sweden
  • Fredrik Brouneus – VA (Public & Science), Sweden

Since 2002 the non-profit organisation VA (Public & Science) has been following confidence in research among the Swedish public. The results reveal a consistent pattern of confidence levels for different research areas: medicine comes out on top, followed by technology, natural sciences, social sciences, educational sciences and, lastly, humanities. Interestingly, the decisive difference between medicine and humanities is not found in the proportion claiming to have low confidence in the respective research areas; rather, it’s in the percentage of people that have “no opinion” that the areas differ. A significantly larger proportion of Swedes lack an opinion about their confidence in research within the humanities compared to that for medicine, natural sciences or technology. In recent years, our follow-up studies (e.g. public focus groups, analyses of media coverage and interviews with journalists and researchers) have provided clues to possible explanations for this pattern. Currently we are combining a quantitative survey with in-depth interviews, to focus specifically on the “no opinion” group. The purpose is to learn why it is that different groups in the population lack an opinion about their confidence in humanities research, whether they perceive this to be a problem or not, and what they need in order to form an opinion. In this paper we will present preliminary results, linking them to findings from our previous studies. We will also discuss how results may be used to develop public communication of humanities research. The project is funded by the Swedish Foundation for Social Sciences and Humanities.

The author has not yet submitted a copy of the full paper.

Presentation type: Individual paper
Theme: Time

Stuck without the middle – how facilitators can help researchers do better citizen science

Author: Fredrik Brouneus – VA (Public & Science), Sweden, Sweden

Co-authors:

  • Martin Bergman – VA (Public & Science), Sweden
  • Lotta Tomasson – VA (Public & Science), Sweden

Engaging volunteers in research through citizen science can pose unfamiliar challenges to even the most experienced researcher. As new stakeholders are invited into the research process, demands arise for expertise and resources not normally required in traditional research projects. Since 2009 the Swedish non-profit organisation Public & Science has been coordinating an annual citizen science project for schools as part of Swedish European Researchers’ Night events (ForskarFredag). In these “mass experiments”, we have helped researchers collaborate with tens of thousands of Swedish pupils on a wide variety of research questions. Through this collaboration, researchers get access to data that would have been impossible to collect through traditional research, the pupils get a hands-on experience of doing real research, while teachers have the opportunity to include research-based material in the curriculum. To date, the mass experiments have explored topics such as light pollution, digital source criticism, climate change and biodiversity. As coordinators, our tasks include helping researchers structure and adjust their communication on aims, methods and research tasks, and in providing participants with timely and targeted feedback – tasks that are not part of the regular toolbox of a researcher, but which are key to a successful citizen science project. We further assist researchers in adapting research protocols to the needs and preferences of the intended target group(s) while ensuring good data quality, recruiting and organising teachers and students, and doing media work for wide dissemination. In this visual presentation we will describe our model for facilitating citizen science, based on 11 years of experience as an intermediary between science and society. Here, we will discuss opportunities and challenges related to all steps of the process, from selecting the research topic and stimulating researcher–participant dialogue, to disseminating results and conducting post-project evaluations.

The author has not yet submitted a copy of the full paper.

Presentation type: Visual presentation
Theme: Transformation

Counteracting cross-cultural calamities when creating a comic – lessons learned from a pilot study

Author: Fredrik Brouneus – VA (Public & Science), Sweden

Co-author: Paula Alvarado – Uppsala Monitoring Centre (UMC)

Medicines safety is of utmost importance to public health on a global scale. Illness due to adverse reactions, use of fake or substandard medicines or incorrect use of medicines pose a considerable burden on society, both with regards to individual suffering and financial costs to the system. To promote a safer use of medicines, basic knowledge needs to be communicated – preferably at an early age to influence behavioral patterns toward medicines. To address this challenge, the Uppsala Monitoring Centre, UMC, is developing a comic book series addressing primarily tweens (10-12-year-olds). Secondary target groups include younger as well as older children/teenagers and adult members of low literacy communities. Each issue contains a feature story on a medicines safety theme, activity pages related to the theme and a final section on basic medicines safety knowledge. In 2017 a pilot issue, on falsified medicines and the concept of side-effects, was tested in a number of different cultural settings around the world, including countries such as Armenia, Jordan, Uganda and Cabo Verde. The testing was done by means of focus groups with tweens. The comic was received with enthusiasm from its readers, and attained its communication goals. Furthermore, it received crucial feedback to improve its acceptability in the different cultural contexts. Based on the results from the pilot, the first issue was recreated from scratch. In parallel a second issue, on antibiotic resistance, was developed. In 2018, in collaboration with researchers at Lund University, the effects of the comic will be explored scientifically as part of a dissertation research project. This presentation will discuss the evolution of the comic, lessons learned from the pilot testing, and challenges encountered in communicating scientific content with audiences from a diverse set of cultural settings.

The author has not yet submitted a copy of the full paper.

Presentation type: Show, tell and talk
Theme: Stories
Area of interest: Comparing science communication across cultures

Public confidence in research – communication dos and don’ts for researchers

Author: Fredrik Brouneus – VA (Public & Science), Sweden

Co-authors:
Maria Lindholm – VA (Public & Science)
Ylva Norén Bretzer – University of Gothenburg

Together with the SOM Institute at the University of Gothenburg, the Swedish non-profit organisation VA (Public & Science) has been following public attitudes to science since 2002 in an annual national survey. Public confidence in research is generally high in Sweden. However, results show a great – and consistent – variation between research areas. Medicine invariably comes out on top, whereas education research and the humanities are at the bottom. Why is this so? What builds confidence in science and researchers? How can researchers nurture public confidence in their own field? To answer these questions, we conducted eight focus groups with members of the public in Stockholm and Gavle, Sweden. Among the participants, there was a higher confidence in research perceived to be transparent, useful (preferably with well-defined results), free from financial interests, and understandable. Being conducted by dedicated researchers with a passion for their work – who can explain what they are doing, and why they are doing it – also boosted confidence. Factors that lowered perceived confidence include fraudulent behaviour, financial interests, no apparent benefits from the research, when researchers turn out to be wrong or when they contradict each other’s results. Here nutrition was repeatedly mentioned as an area with low confidence, due to inconsistent results being frequently reported in the media. Research seen as being too obscure, or too obvious, also received lower confidence ratings among participants. There was an overall positive view on researchers, with participants perceiving them to be highly intelligent, devoted to their work, creative, patient; while at the same time attributing them with stereotypical personal traits such as absentmindedness, social incompetence and an inability to explain their work to normal people. This presentation will discuss findings from the focus groups and their ramifications for researchers in their role as science communicators.

The author has not yet submitted a copy of the full paper.

Presentation type: Individual paper
Theme: Science
Area of interest: Building a theoretical basis for science communication

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