Communicating discovery science

A gravitational wave has little relevance in the “day-to-day” of our lives. Yet when, for the first time in 2016, the first direct observation of one of these cosmic-scale events was announced, the entire world suddenly turned its attention to this major scientific discovery. The study of cosmic phenomena, like other areas of scientific research (from evolutionary studies to basic mathematics), falls under what is known as basic research. Since it has no direct applications in everyday life, this research can be difficult to communicate. However, as gravitational waves demonstrate, it can prove to be extremely interesting even for a broad, non-specialist audience. The new special issue of the Journal of Science Communication (JCOM), titled 'Communicating Discovery Science,' is dedicated precisely to communicating basic science. The issue (online from October the 21st and available in open access at this link) explores the challenges and opportunities associated with communicating basic science, the reasons why it is important to communicate it, and how insights from this field can also be relevant when communicating other scientific topics closer to practical applications. For the very first time, this special issue of JCOM is also available in prin to be distributed at an symposium on the same topic taking place at Stellenbosch University from 18 – 20 November 2024.

"One of the most common pieces of advice on how to engage the public with scientific research is to show how important it is in their everyday lives, but in reality, we see that people can become enthusiastically interested in basic science as well," explains Rick Borchelt. Borchelt has been the Director of Communications and Public Affairs and Senior Advisor to the Director for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science, and recently retired after a 40-year career communicating about and advocating for federal support of science and technology. He is also the coordinator of the newly published special issue on JCOM, which stems from his work alongside Brooke Smith (Director of Science and Society at the Kavli Foundation) for the joint Kavli Foundation/DOE project “The Science Public Engagement Partnership” (SciPEP), focused on providing scientists with the confidence, efficacy, and tools to engage the public around basic science.

"Basic science doesn’t provoke widespread debates like other fields, such as climate research, vaccines, and the heated discussions around misinformation," explains Borchelt. Discovery science isn’t particularly divisive, and that might seem like a good thing, but in reality, it also puts it at risk of not attracting enough attention. “Basic science is not a concern, but because it’s easy to overlook, and if it’s overlooked, it’s not going to be funded," points out Borchelt. The SciPEP project studied the communication of basic science for five years, with the aim of understanding these challenges, but also highlighting the strengths of basic science and learning how to best communicate it. The special issue, which features many of the researchers who contributed to the project, brings together many of the insights that emerged from this extensive work.

In the special issue, you can find contributions from Borchelt himself, Brooke Smith, and Keegan Sawyer on the foundations of the project, helping the reader understand the purpose of this effort. "In our work, we decided not to try to define what basic science is. Instead, we chose to focus on the scientific process, identifying discovery science as those initial steps in the path—the discovery phase." In this sense, basic science is present in every scientific field, even in those that will eventually lead to practical applications useful to everyone. "It’s important to communicate that when a major scientific announcement is made, it doesn’t come out of nowhere; there are decades of 'silent' work leading up to that result. This is a micro-narrative that we believe should also be included when communicating applied science and technology," says Borchelt.

The special issue can be ideally divided into three parts, with the first papers outlining the philosophical foundations that must be considered when addressing the main theme, a section dedicated to in-depth analyses of strategies and goals for science communication, and finally, some practical examples from fields such as astrophysics, experimental physics (the observation of the Higgs boson and how CERN managed communication over the decades), and ocean studies.

"In one of the papers, important platforms for the dissemination of science, such as EurekAlert! are discussed, examining, for instance, the balance between basic science and applied science in these services (Jingwen Zhang et al.)," explains Borchelt. "Milne and colleagues’ work, on the other hand, builds a bridge between basic science and social applications: they worked with scientists and members of the public to understand people’s opinions on the policy implications of basic science."

"I hope the special issue conveys to readers that curiosity is one of the central drivers for communicating science during the discovery phase. It’s not just about what science does for you or how it can change your life in tangible ways. It’s important to help people understand that science in its discovery phases has profound effects on them, even if they may not see its relevance for decades. These are long-term strategies, and engaging people in this is critical to maintain a robust scientific enterprise."

The Communicating Discovery Science JCOM Special Issue can be read for free on JCOM.