TRESCA started with an in-depth conceptual and theoretical exploration of how citizens perceive scientific findings. We investigated trending topics in media and social media to better understand which topics are most relevant to them.We also analysed current trends in sci-com related to policy by conducting interviews with policymakers at national (IT, AT, HU, NL) and European level. Here, we observed that digitalisation and open science are key in how policymakers consume sci-com.. Finally, we engaged with researchers to examine their engagement or disengagement with sci-com. Our survey results showed that researchers are generally willing to engage in science communication, but that they lack the time, training and structural incentives to do so effectively..
Via several empirical research efforts, we uncovered how citizens perceive and engage with sci-com. Focus groups (with 61 citizens in three countries:IT,AT,NL)were held, which triggered a debate about various aspects of communication perception and investigated how the public perceives and evaluates science communication. Key takeaways from this research reveal how people debate the legitimacy and credibility of science, the powerful role of emotions in people’s understanding of science, and the need for sharing the responsibility of communicating science between different stakeholders.
To evaluate effective sci-com an experimental survey design yielded 7120 individual responses from nationally diverse and representative samples (people aged 18-75, living in FR. DE, HU,IT,NL,PL and SP). This study/data demonstrates a need to take cultural differences and biases into account when communicating science. One important aspect is how sci-com can influence not only people’s beliefs, but also their actions and behavior. The majority of respondents were also able to understand by themselves that the story was true. Only Dutch respondents were on average more inclined to believe that the story was false; an effect that could have been produced by Dutch people’s high reliance and positive attitudes toward digital technologies.
The TRESCA project also created tools to improve sci-com practices. It did so by performing large scale video experiments in which elements and variations (e.g. aim, tone, production value) of science communication videos were analyzed on their effectiveness in creating trust. We also found that depending on pre-existing attitudes towards the topic, viewers perceived different communication styles differently. These results were considered in the production of the video.on science communication called: “We Lied to You …And We’ll Do it Again” that was released in December 2021 and has been viewed by nearly 10 million viewers to date, see
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFqn3uy238E(opens in new window). Due to the overwhelming success of the video Kurzgesagt is planning an entire video series on sci-com.
TRESCA also developed a Proof of Concept of a fact checking toolkit and methodology. called Ms.W. Ms.W aims to help users track online news and their authors, by evaluating the credibility and trustworthiness of information sources. Ms.W REST API has been designed and deployed following an open source and agile software development methodology to facilitate the future development of the widget as a cloud-based service and ensure its long-term exploitation by stakeholders.
The TRESCA project also developed and launched a free online training course: Science Communication: communicating trustworthy information in the digital world, see:
https://www.coursera.org/learn/communicating-trustworthy-information-in-the-digital-world(opens in new window). Via seven modules with various learning resources, participants of the MOOC explore the influence of digitalization on sci-com. The course was created to help journalists, scientists, policy makers, and the wider public improve their understanding of current sci-com practices.
