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COMMUNITY:
Peer-reviewed article

Narratives of Science Outreach in Elite Contexts of Academic Science

January 1, 2013 | Media and Technology, Public Programs, Professional Development, Conferences, and Networks, Exhibitions, Informal/Formal Connections
Using data from interviews with 133 physicists and biologists working at elite research universities in the United States, we analyze narratives of outreach. We identify discipline-specific barriers to outreach and gender-specific rationales for commitment. Physicists view outreach as outside of the scientific role and a possible threat to reputation. Biologists assign greater value to outreach, but their perceptions of the public inhibit commitment. Finally, women are more likely than men to participate in outreach, a commitment that often results in peer-based informal sanctions. The study reveals how the cultural properties of disciplines, including the status of women, shape the meaning and experience of science outreach.

TEAM MEMBERS

  • David Johnson
    Author
    Rice University
  • Anne Ecklund
    Author
    Rice University
  • Anne Lincoln
    Author
    Southern Methodist University
  • Citation

    Publication Name: Science Communication
    Resource Type: Research Products
    Discipline: Education and learning science | Life science | Physics
    Audience: General Public | Scientists
    Environment Type: Media and Technology | Public Programs | Community Outreach Programs | Professional Development, Conferences, and Networks | Exhibitions | Informal/Formal Connections

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