How to evaluate science communication impact using survey methods

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How to evaluate science communication impact using survey methods

Author: Eric Jensen – University of Warwick, United Kingdom

Co-authors:
Eric Kennedy – Arizona State University
Joseph Roche – Trinity College Dublin
Brady Wagoner – University of Aalborg

Are you feeling uncertain about how to set up a survey-based impact evaluation of science communication events, exhibitions or activities, or looking to explore your options? Surveys can be a great tool for learning about science communication audience expectations, quality of experience and impact. However, accurate measurement of audience outcomes requires following principles of survey research methodology that have been developed over decades of research in the social sciences. This workshop presents some of the highlights from this existing body of knowledge, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of different options. This event includes presentations some ‘top tips’ on how to design good questionnaires and observation-based evaluations, as well as time for discussion to address the specific challenges that attendees face. In addition, the workshop addresses the role of longitudinal methods in evaluating impacts with questionnaires. This practical workshop offers a very brief introduction to good practice in questionnaire design for science communication evaluation. This includes how to evaluate existing survey questions and develop new ones for quantitative evaluations. The workshop will be present methods and results from a number of key European science communication examples, including the European Commission-funded PERFORM project (perform-research.eu) and European Researchers Night.
The author has not yet submitted a copy of the full paper.

Presentation type: Workshop
Theme: Science
Area of interest: Investigating science communication practices

Preaching to scientifically converted audiences: Evaluating social inclusion at science festivals and events

Author: Eric Jensen – University of Warwick, United Kingdom

Co-author: Eric Kennedy – Arizona State University

Scientific institutions internationally are increasingly embracing values of social inclusivity and public engagement with science. But how do these dimensions of social inclusion and public engagement with science intersect? Science festivals and events have rapidly expanded in recent years as an outgrowth of these values, aiming to engage and educate the public about scientific topics and research. While resources invested in public engagement with science by scientists, universities, and governments are admirable in principle; this study indicates that their ambition to broaden the reach of science may be going unrealized in practice. Using data from three major UK science festivals, we demonstrate such events are disproportionately reaching economically privileged and educated audiences already invested in science, as opposed to diverse and broadly representative samples of the general public. Our results demonstrate that these science festivals are falling short of their aims to make science accessible to a broad audience. There is a clear need for improved practices and on-going evaluation to ensure science festivals include those who are not already scientifically converted. To complement these findings, results are presented from recent research conducted with a diverse range of young people in different European countries around their responses to science communication events. This European Commission-funded research project (PERFORM – perform-research.eu) shows another potential side to science communication events, revealing the role of participatory approaches in developing social inclusive science communication. Meanwhile, this same research project highlights new social inclusion challenges relating to the role of social media in engaging young people with science in the contemporary age.

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

Presentation type: Individual paper
Theme: Science
Area of interest: Investigating science communication practices

Using Surveys in Science Communication Evaluation: A Very Brief Introduction to the State of the Art

Author: Eric Jensen, University of Warwick, United Kingdom

Are you feeling uncertain about how to set up a survey-based evaluation of science communication events, exhibitions or activities, or looking to explore your options? Surveys can be a great tool for learning about science communication audience expectations, quality of experience and impact. However, accurate measurement of audience outcomes requires following principles of survey research methodology that have been developed over decades of research in the social sciences. This workshop presents some of the highlights from this existing body of knowledge, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of different options. This event includes presentations some ‘top tips’ on how to design good questionnaires and observation-based evaluations, as well as time for discussion to address the specific challenges that attendees are facing. This practical workshop offers a very brief introduction to good practice in questionnaire design for science communication evaluation. This includes how to evaluate existing survey questions and develop new ones for quantitative evaluations. The workshop will be delivered by Dr Eric Jensen (Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Warwick), a social scientist specializing in impact evaluation of science communication in a variety of settings, including science festivals, science centers, natural history museums, zoos and aquariums. He has numerous publications in journals such as Public Understanding of Science and Conservation Biology. His forthcoming books include ‘Doing Real Research’ (SAGE, 2016) and ‘Making the Most of Public Engagement Events and Festivals’ (Cambridge University Press, 2016). Jensen’s PhD is in Sociology from the University of Cambridge (UK). He teaches quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods social research. He has led several ground breaking projects on the value of new social research technologies for evaluating cultural and informal learning experiences, funded by the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (Nesta), the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the European Commission (Horizon2020).

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