Geoscientists’ views about science communication: predicting willingness to communicate geoscience

Abstract

The main barriers to science communication are common in different fields and they are widely identified in the literature. Studies focused on specific scientific communities framed science communication as an activity with the specificities of each context and field. In this study, we analysed geoscientists’ representations and attitudes about communication to understand which factors can have significant impact on the prediction of public engagement and that can explain the frequency/intensity of communication. The results pointed out that factors such as professional experience, recognition by the institution, lack of financial support, personal satisfaction and geoscientific area of expertise, have a significant effect on their public engagement.