How do STEM graduate students perceive science communication? Understanding science communication perceptions of future scientists

PLoS One. 2022 Oct 3;17(10):e0274840. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0274840. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

Increasingly, communicating science to the public is recognized as the responsibility of professional scientists; however, these skills are not always included in graduate training. In addition, most research on science communication training during graduate school, which is limited, has been program evaluation or literature reviews and does not report on or seek to understand graduate student perspectives. This research study provides a comprehensive analysis of graduate-level science communication training from the perspective of STEM graduate students. Using a mixed-methods approach, this study aimed to investigate where graduate students are receiving science communication training (if at all), what this training looks like from the student's point of view, and, for graduate students that are engaging in science communication, what do these experiences look like. This study also explores how graduate students define science communication. Taken together, these results will give graduate students a voice in the development of science communication trainings and will remove barriers and increase equity in science communication training.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Communication
  • Education, Graduate / methods
  • Humans
  • Physicians*
  • Program Evaluation
  • Students*

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the State of Florida through the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 State University System of Florida Legislative Budget Request and a Florida International University start-up package. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.