Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

Social media have given rise to new opportunities for science organizations to communicate with the public. Building on theories of science communication and public relations, this study examined scientific institutions’ use of Twitter for one-way and two-way communication in connection with science festivals over the period 2012 to 2015, using NanoDays as a case study. It identified three communicative functions of tweets by organizations—information, participation, and community—with most tweets being informational and containing hyperlinks. Nevertheless, longitudinal analyses indicated that organizations have increasingly incorporated community-building practices such as hashtags. Findings help clarify how social media engender science communication paradigms.

Keywords

science communication public relations one-way communication two-way communication social media

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Avidar

Ariel

Malka

Levy

E. C.

(2015). Smartphones, publics, and OPR: Do publics want to engage? Public Relations Review, 41(2), 214-221.

Bandelli

(2014). Assessing scientific citizenship through science centre visitor studies. Journal of Science Communication, 1, C05. Retrieved from https://jcom.sissa.it/sites/default/files/documents/JCOM_1301_2014_C05.pdf

Bandelli

Konijn

E. A.

(2013). Science centers and public participation: Methods, strategies, and barriers. Science Communication, 35(4), 419-448.

Bauer

M. W.

Allum

Miller

(2007). What can we learn from 25 years of PUS survey research? Liberating and expanding the agenda. Public Understanding of Science, 16(1), 79-95.

Bell

(2008). Engaging the public in technology policy: A new role for science museums. Science Communication, 29(3), 386-398.

Borchelt

R. E.

Nielsen

K. H.

(2014). Public relations in science: Managing the trust portfolio. In Bucchi

Trench

(Eds.), Routledge handbook of public communication of science and technology (2nd ed., pp. 58-69). New York, NY: Routledge.

boyd

Golder

Lotan

(2010, January). Tweet, tweet, retweet: Conversational aspects of retweeting on Twitter. Paper presented at the HICSS-43, Kauai, HI.

Breakenridge

D. K.

(2012). Social media and public relations: Eight new practices for the PR professional. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson FT Press.

Brossard

Lewenstein

B. V.

(2010). A critical appraisal of models of public understanding of science: Using practice to inform theory. In Kahlor

L. A.

Stout

(Eds.), Understanding and communicating science: New agendas in communication (pp. 11-39). New York, NY: Routledge.

10.

Bruning

S. D.

Dials

Shirka

(2008). Using dialogue to build organization–public relationships, engage publics, and positively affect organizational outcomes. Public Relations Review, 34(1), 25-31.

11.

Cacciatore

M. A.

Scheufele

D. A.

Iyengar

(2016). The end of framing as we know it . . . and the future of media effects. Mass Communication and Society, 19(1), 7-23.

12.

Cerini

E. B.

(2016). Heroes in science: Inspiration, influence and engagement (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/110692/1/Cerini%20Thesis%202016.pdf

13.

Ceron

Curini

Iacus

S. M.

Porro

(2014). Every tweet counts? How sentiment analysis of social media can improve our knowledge of citizens’ political preferences with an application to Italy and France. New Media & Society, 16(2), 340-358.

14.

Cho

Schweickart

Haase

(2014). Public engagement with nonprofit organizations on Facebook. Public Relations Review, 40(3), 565-567.

15.

Colliander

Dahlén

Modig

(2015). Twitter for two: Investigating the effects of dialogue with customers in social media. International Journal of Advertising, 34(2), 181-194.

16.

Corley

E. A.

Scheufele

D. A.

(2010). Outreach gone wrong? When we talk nano to the public, we leaving behind key audiences. Scientist, 24(1), 22.

17.

Drotner

Schrøder

K. M.

(2013). Introduction. In Drotner

Schrøder

K. M.

(Eds.), Museum communication and social media: The connected museum (pp. 1-16). New York, NY: Routledge.

18.

Duke

(2002). Wired science: Use of World Wide Web and e-mail in science public relations. Public Relations Review, 28(3), 311-324.

19.

Durant

Buckley

Comerford

Fogg-Rogers

Fooshee

Lewenstein

Wiehe

(2016). Science live: Surveying the landscape of live public science events. Retrieved from https://livescienceevents.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/2016-science-live-landscape-survey.pdf

20.

Fletcher

Lee

M. J.

(2012). Current social media uses and evaluations in American museums. Museum Management and Curatorship, 27(5), 505-521.

21.

Greffe

Krebs

Pflieger

(2017). The future of the museum in the twenty-first century: Recent clues from France. Museum Management and Curatorship, 32(4), 319-334.

22.

Grunig

J. E.

(1984). Organizations, environments, and models of public relations. Public Relations Research & Education, 1(1), 6-29.

23.

Grunig

J. E.

Grunig

L. A.

(2008). Excellence theory in public relations: Past, present, and future. In Zerfaß

Amsterdamska

Sriramesh

(Eds.), Public relations research: European and international perspectives and innovations (pp. 327-347). Wiesbaden, Germany: VS Verlag.

24.

Grunig

J. E.

Hunt

(1984). Managing public relations. New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.

25.

Hermida

Lewis

S. C.

Zamith

(2014). Sourcing the Arab Spring: A case study of Andy Carvin’s sources on Twitter during the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 19(3), 479-499.

26.

Hill

(2010). What to tweet about. In Twitter for museums: Strategies and tactics for success: A collection of essays (pp. 90-106). Edinburgh, Scotland: MuseumsEtc.

27.

Honeycutt

Herring

(2009, January). Beyond microblogging: Conversation and collaboration in Twitter. Paper presented at the Proc 42nd HICSS, Big Island, HI.

28.

Hopkins

D. J.

King

(2010). A method of automated nonparametric content analysis for social science. American Journal of Political Science, 54(1), 229-247.

29.

Hughes

A. L.

Palen

(2009). Twitter adoption and use in mass convergence and emergency events. International Journal of Emergency Management, 6(3/4), 248-260.

30.

Jamal

A. A.

Keohane

R. O.

Romney

Tingley

(2015). Anti-Americanism and anti-interventionism in Arabic Twitter discourses. American Political Science Association, 13(1), 55-73.

31.

Jensen

Buckley

(2011). The role of university student volunteers in festival-based public engagement. Bristol, England: National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement.

32.

Jensen

Buckley

(2014). Why people attend science festivals: Interests, motivations and self-reported benefits of public engagement with research. Public Understanding of Science, 23(5), 557-573.

33.

Kelly

(2012). The connected museum in the world of social media. In Drotner

Schrøder

K. M.

(Eds.), Museum communication and social media: The connected museum (pp. 54-71). New York, NY: Routledge.

34.

Kent

M. L.

(2013). Using social media dialogically: Public relations role in reviving democracy. Public Relations Review, 39(4), 337-345.

35.

Kent

M. L.

Taylor

(2002). Toward a dialogic theory of public relations. Public Relations Review, 28(1), 21-37.

36.

Kwok

(2013). Spreading social media messages on Facebook: An analysis of the restaurant industry. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 54(1), 84-94.

37.

Kurath

Gisler

(2009). Informing, involving or engaging? Science communication, in the ages of atom-, bio- and nanotechnology. Public Understanding of Science, 18(5), 559-573.

38.

Langa

L. A.

(2014). Does Twitter help museums engage with visitors? In iConference 2014 proceedings (pp. 484-495). Retrieved from https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/47289/130_ready.pdf

39.

Lederbogen

Trebbe

(2003). Promoting science on the Web: Public relations for scientific organizations–Results of a content analysis. Science Communication, 24(3), 333-352.

40.

Lee

N. M.

VanDyke

M. S.

(2015). Set it and forget it: The one-way use of social media by government agencies communicating science. Science Communication, 37(4), 533-541.

41.

Lee

N. M.

VanDyke

M. S.

Cummins

R. G.

(2017). A missed opportunity? NOAA’s use of social media to communicate climate science. Environmental Communication. Advance online publication. doi:10.1080/17524032.2016.1269825

42.

Lovejoy

Saxton

G. D.

(2012). Information, community, and action: How nonprofit organizations use social media. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 17(3), 337-353.

43.

Lovejoy

Waters

R. D.

Saxton

G. D.

(2012). Engaging stakeholders through Twitter: How nonprofit organizations are getting more out of 140 characters or less. Public Relations Review, 38(2), 313-318.

44.

Macias

Hilyard

Freimuth

(2009). Blog functions as risk and crisis communication during Hurricane Katrina. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 15(1), 1-31.

45.

Miller

J. D.

(2004). Public understanding of, and attitudes toward, scientific research: What we know and what we need to know. Public Understanding of Science, 13(3), 273-294.

46.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2017). Communicating science effectively: A research agenda. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

47.

Park

Reber

B. H.

Chon

M.-G.

(2016). Tweeting as health communication: Health organizations’ use of Twitter for health promotion and public engagement. Journal of Health Communication, 21(2), 188-198.

48.

Pew Research Center. (2011a). Cain’s bad stretch—A campaign coverage update: How elite media and press overall compare. Retrieved from http://www.journalism.org/2011/11/09/media-and-herman-cain/

49.

Pew Research Center. (2011b). Twitter and the campaign. Retrieved from http://www.journalism.org/2011/12/08/twitter-and-campaign/

50.

Pew Research Center. (2013). On Twitter: Dueling views on the shutdown and Obamacare. Retrieved from http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/10/02/on-twitter-dueling-views-on-the-shutdown-and-obamacare/

51.

Pew Research Center. (2014). On Twitter, criticism exceeds praise for Obama’s speech. Retrieved from http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/01/30/on-twitter-criticism-exceeds-praise-for-obamas-speech/

52.

Pew Research Center. (2016). News use across social media platforms 2016. Retrieved from http://www.journalism.org/2016/05/26/news-use-across-social-media-platforms-2016/

53.

Rose

K. M.

Korzekwa

Brossard

Scheufele

D. A.

Heisler

(2017). Engaging the public at a science festival: Findings from a panel on human gene editing. Science Communication, 39(2), 250-277.

54.

Runge

K. K.

Yeo

S. K.

Cacciatore

M. A.

Scheufele

D. A.

Brossard

Xenos

M. A.

. . . Su

L. Y.- F.

(2013). Tweeting nano: How public discourses about nanotechnology develop in social media environments. Journal of Nanoparticle Research, 15, 1381.

55.

Rybalko

Seltzer

(2010). Dialogic communication in 140 characters or less: How Fortune 500 companies engage stakeholders using Twitter. Public Relations Review, 36(4), 336-341.

56.

Saffer

A. J.

Sommerfeldt

E. J.

Taylor

(2013). The effects of organizational Twitter interactivity on organization-public relationships. Public Relations Review, 39(3), 213-215.

57.

Sanchez-Mora

M. C.

(2014). Evolution of evaluation in science museums and centres. Journal of Science Communication, 01, C02. Retrieved from https://jcom.sissa.it/sites/default/files/documents/JCOM_1301_2014_C02.pdf

58.

Sardo

A. M.

Grand

(2016). Science in culture: Audiences’ perspective on engaging with science at a summer festival. Science Communication, 38(2), 251-260.

59.

Scheufele

D. A.

(2014). Science communication as political communication. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(Suppl. 4), 13585-13592.

60.

Science Festival Alliance. (2016). Annual report of the science festival alliance. Retrieved from http://sciencefestivals.org/wp-content/uploads/2016-SFA-Annual-Report-Lo-Res.pdf

61.

Sharma

(2014). How nonprofits use social media to engage with their communities. Nonprofit Quarterly. Retrieved from https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2014/03/13/social-media-nonprofits-engaging-with-community/

62.

Shu

(2015). Twitter officially launches its “retweet with comment” feature. Retrieve from https://techcrunch.com/2015/04/06/retweetception/

63.

Shipman

(2014). Public relations as science communication. Journal of Science Communication, 13(3), C05. Retrieved from https://jcom.sissa.it/sites/default/files/documents/JCOM_1303_2014_C05.pdf

64.

Solis

Breakenridge

(2009). Putting the public back in public relations: How social media is reinventing the aging business of PR. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson FT Press.

65.

L. Y.-F.

Akin

Brossard

(2017). Research methods for assessing online climate change communication, social media discussion, and behavior. In Nisbet

M. C.

(Ed.), The Oxford encyclopedia of climate change communication. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from http://climatescience.oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228620.001.0001/acrefore-9780190228620-e-492

66.

L. Y.-F.

Akin

Brossard

Scheufele

Xenos

(2015). Science news consumption patterns and their implications for public understanding of science. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 92(3), 597-616.

67.

L. Y.-F.

Cacciatore

M. A.

Liang

Brossard

Scheufele

D. A.

Xenos

M. A.

(2017). Analyzing public sentiments online: Combining human- and computer-based content analysis. Information, Communication & Society, 20(3), 406-427.

68.

Svarovsky

Goss

Kollmann

E. K.

(2015). Public reach estimates for the NISE Network. Retrieved from http://www.nisenet.org/catalog/public-reach-estimations-nise-network

69.

Taylor

Kent

M. L.

(2014). Dialogic engagement: Clarifying foundational concepts. Journal of Public Relations Research, 26(5), 384-398.

70.

Treem

J. W.

Leonardi

P. M.

(2012). Social media use in organizations: Exploring the affordances of visibility, editability, persistence, and association. Communication Yearbook, 36, 143-189.

71.

Twitter. (2017). Twitter usage. Retrieved from https://about.twitter.com/company

72.

Waters

R. D.

Burnett

Lamm

Lucas

(2009). Engaging stakeholders through social networking: How nonprofit organizations are using Facebook. Public Relations Review, 35(2), 102-106.

73.

Wright

D. K.

Hinson

M. D.

(2015). Examining social and emerging media use in public relations practice: A ten-year longitudinal analysis. Public Relations Journal, 9(2), 1-36.

74.

Wright

D. K.

Hinson

M. D.

(2017). Tracking how social and other digital media are being used in public relations practice: A twelve-year study. Public Relations Journal, 11(1). Retrieved http://prjournal.instituteforpr.org/wp-content/uploads/PRJ-2017-Wright-Hinson-2-1.pdf

75.

W. W.

Chiu

I-H.

Chen

Mukherjee

(2015). Twitter hashtags for health: Appling network and content analyses to understand the health knowledge sharing in a Twitter-based community of practice. Quality & Quantity, 49(4), 1361-1380.

76.

Yang

S.-U.

Kang

Johnson

(2010). Effects of narratives, openness to dialogic communication, and credibility on engagement in crisis communication through organizational blogs. Communication Research, 37(4), 473-497.

77.

Zappavigna

(2012). Discourse of Twitter and social media, continuum discourse series. London, England: Continuum.

Information-Sharing and Community-Building: Exploring the Use of Twitter in Science Public Relations

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References