Tamara Heck (DIPF), Sylvia Kullmann (DIPF), Jana Lasser (TU Graz) and Katja Mayer (Uni Vienna)
DGI Forum
28.10.2021
The Corona crisis made scientists* step out of their role as background advisors to policymakers into the public eye themselves and, especially at the outset, played a major role in shaping the debate about sensible and necessary measures to control the pandemic. Open research data and preprint articles further played an important role in the capacity for rapid response.
With increasing open science activities, two learning areas became apparent. First, it became apparent that researchers face new challenges in terms of public communication with other researchers and, in particular, civil society. Due to the unfiltered dissemination of scientific information to the general public, publicized discourses between different scientists about the correctness of research procedures and results, and the constant adaptation of recommendations and measures based on research-related increases in knowledge, the impression of chaotic conditions in science has arisen in parts of society. Individual scientists* soon largely withdrew from the public sphere again due to massive hostility (e.g. Christian Drosten, cf. Zinkant, 2020). It became clear that the degree of openness and transparency experienced at the beginning of the pandemic can lead to considerable acceptance problems for science in civil society (Breznau et al., 2020).
Second, it became (once again) clear that the mission and functioning of science - and in particular open science - are not adequatly communicated among diverse publics. Roles and responsibilities once again need to be negotiated.
In terms of expectations and changing research practices, the question arises as to what relevant challenges should be addressed in the future in order for communication to be more trouble-free.
In our presentation we discussed the following aspects:
1. open science information maturity and information products
2. communication between science and society
3. open science literacy
(Illustration by Riesenspatz for Wikimedia Deutschland, CC BY-SA 4.0)
