Leveraging Video-based Social Networking Platforms to Disseminate Research on Energy, the Natural Environment, and Health: Evaluations of Practice

Abstract

Abstract: Scientists are not trained to communicate research findings with the public. Most Americans know Dr. Fauci, but few Americans can name any other living scientist. A 2017 poll found that 81% of Americans were unable to name a single living scientist (Research America, 2018). Among Americans that could name a living scientist, the majority named just three men: Stephen Hawking, Bill Nye, and Neil deGrasse Tyson. Teaching scientists how to communicate findings from taxpayer-funded research is a good return on investments. Yet a critical barrier to training scientists in research communication is the lack of evidence-based practices for how scientists should engage the public. Taking this paucity of knowledge as impetus for research, this proposal seeks to develop systematic guidance for scientists on how to engage the public through video-based platforms.

This project will develop evidence-based practice guidelines for video-based science communication through these aims:

• Aim 1: Conducting a systematic review of the science communication literature.
• Aim 2: Evaluating science-based video content of top creators on video-based social networkingplatforms.
• Aim 3: Experimentally manipulating and testing science communication strategies identified in aims 1 and 2 to evaluate their effectiveness.
  

Presentations

• Lai, B.S. (2024, July). Science communication. Panel Session. Annual Natural Hazards Workshop conference. Broomfield, Colorado.
• *Wermers, A., *Montes, M., *Riobueno-Naylor, A., Jones-Jang, M., Wargo, J., & Lai, B.S. (2024, March). Evaluating video-based science communication practices. Boston College Graduate Research Symposium. Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.
• Lai, B.S. & Halvorsen, C. (2024, February). Public Scholarship: How to Write Op-Eds. Boston College Research and Scholarly Integrity Workshop. Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.
  

Publications 

• Lai, B.S. (2023, November 21). Can grad students defend us against misinformation? Inside Higher Ed.
  
• Lai, B.S. *Riobueno-Naylor, A., Quan, S., Montes, M., Wargo, J., & Jones-Jang, M. (Under review). Evaluating Video-based Science Communications Practices: A Systematic Review.
• Lai, B.S. (Under contract). The Public Scholar: How to Grow Your Audience and Increase the Reach of Your Ideas. Princeton University Press.

Additional Grants

• Collaborative Research: Is the Cure Worse Than the Disease? Investigating the Cause, Mechanism, and Solution of Declining Trust in Science in the Age of Misinformation, National Science Foundation Award Number: 2346315 Role: Co-PI (PI: Mo Jones-Jang; Co-PI: Myo Chung) Amount: $259,129 Awarded in the Spring

Students Trained 

• 5 Undergraduate Students
  • Isabella Gomez, Lynch School of Education and Human Development; McNair Scholar
  • Sarah Quan, Lynch School of Education and Human Development
  • Valeria Ramos, Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences
  • Adeline Kim, Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences
  • Diane Chung, Lynch School of Education and Human Development
• 1 Graduate Student
  • Aneesa Wermers. MSW student in the School of Social Work
    
• 2 Postdoctoral Students 
  • Alexa Riobueno-Naylor, PhD student in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development
  • Mauricio Montes,PhD student in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development