Narratives of Science Outreach in Elite Contexts of Academic Science

January 1st, 2013 | RESEARCH

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.

Document

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Team Members

David Johnson, Author, Rice University
Anne Ecklund, Author, Rice University
Anne Lincoln, Author, Southern Methodist University

Citation

Publication: Science Communication

Related URLs

Full Text via ResearchGate

Tags

Audience: General Public | Scientists
Discipline: Education and learning science | Life science | Physics
Resource Type: Peer-reviewed article | Research Products
Environment Type: Community Outreach Programs | Exhibitions | Informal | Formal Connections | Media and Technology | Professional Development | Conferences | Networks | Public Programs