The following blogpost will be focused on the dissemination of the article Will Podcasting and Social Media Replace Journals and Traditional Science Communication? No, but . . ., which was published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, as it offers valuable insights into science communication that makes use of new media as a means for conveying scientific knowledge.
The digital world we find ourselves in these days is a rapidly changing landscape, with the emergence of new developments and platforms constantly redefining our ways of communication. There is a vast offer of platforms to use, with new ones continuously being added. The relevance of these tools in science communication has been increasing, offering a large-scale audience content that was previously mainly accessible within the scientific community.
The authors recognize great potential in new media usage in order to build on knowledge translation and education, as digital media can often be openly accessed and therefore more useful in reaching larger and more diverse target groups, including scientists, trainees, and the lay public than traditional forms of science communication.
Blogging emerged as one of the first forums to relay scientific information apart from traditional channels such as scientific journals. But the digital landscape is vast and new platforms are emerging continuously.
Looking at the topic of epidemiology, for instance, the coronavirus epidemic sparked substantial interest from the public, thus platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, Twitter (now X) or Facebook, as merely an internet connection is needed to access social media platforms and their contents, while few people have access or subscriptions to scientific journals.
Twitter, for instance, offered many ways that could be used for engaging with and disseminating scientific content.
A widely used approach was making use of the so called „tweetorial“, which are series of tweets that provide short tutorials for certain subjects. A tweet could be 280 characters long and be accessed openly. Tweetorials are therefore a lot shorter than a conventional manuscript, as the character limit forces the authors to focus on simpler language to get the information across within this limited space.
While a medium like that is maybe more suitable for big-picture explanations and not necessarily conducive for details study descriptions and analysis, it could be a valuable supplement to traditional approaches rather than a replacement.
Another way Twitter was utilized in order to disseminate research was the live-tweeting of, for example, seminars scientific conferences, making some of the content available for people who could not attend the events. Live-tweeting means the posting of a series of tweets about a presentation’s content in realtime, often including a shared hashtag.
A completely different approach to sharing scientific information with the public is the usage of podcasting to do so. Podcasts are recorded audios disseminated via the internet and can be replayed through browsers or in a podcast application. A lot of these podcasts are freely accessible and can be subscribed to by individuals.
As download and offline options have emerged, offline usage presents no issue to the listener, making podcasts a popular medium, for instance while commuting, traveling, exercise or walks.
Podcasting enables researchers to explain study results to a more diverse and larger audience than traditional methods and cover a vast number of topics across numerous disciplines such as basic science, public health, or clinical medicine. The number of listeners varies, with some podcasts reaching niche audiences, while others are being listened to by hundreds of thousands of people.
Now, while these and other formats of science communication are rising in relevance, also the question as to why these new media are gaining influence in this field can be posed. The authors of this article assume that 2 of the biggest reasons for this occurrence: user cost and convenience. While conferences require fees and traveling costs, journals require costly subscriptions, and the contents of academic talks are frequently limited to those in personal attendance, new media formats are available at any point in time, with easy access to information. People often make use of this in „found-time“, which mans the time in between activities, for instance during travel. Free platforms are therefore highly effective when it comes to science communication and have the potential to reach larger audiences than traditional channels.
Furthermore, new media has been contributing to the democratization of expertise, and also access to experts. International correspondence poses no issue through the worldwide availability of online platforms, allowing for engaging with experts, learning from professionals, or diversifying the field, also offering a platform for previously marginalized or excluded voices.
The authors describe a use case for the field of epidemiology, which can surely be considered for most fields of science topics. Curricula can be expanded and made to include new media. This enables the supplementation of traditional contents via podcasts, YouTube video talks, online course lectures or tweetorials, for instance. As much of this content is available for free, it is easier to integrate into classes, as students do not have to worry about extra expenses, as would be the case with journal articles or textbooks. Also, independent student engagement in expert online discussions on relevant topics is possible with little effort. New media can further the facilitation of non-traditional paths into the respective fields, as information can be shared with those who are not up to date in the area, supplying them with current expertise and conversations.
The commentary concludes that new media might not (especially in the near future) replace traditional methods of science communication, instead they are adding to them, augmenting, influencing, and improving traditional media. Social media is continuously finding places within the scientific community and offers great potential for future endeavors. Many journals, academic institutions, and conferences already make use of new online technologies, impacting the future of science communication significantly.
This blog post is largely concerned with the more positive potentials of new media science communication and will be continued in the next post with the challenges and risks that arise through its usage.
Quelle:
https://academic.oup.com/aje/article/190/8/1625/6292357#google_vignette
